Marine Antimicrobial Peptides

Dear Colleagues,

Marine organisms live in a wide range of environmental conditions (temperature, pressure, salinity, light, polluants, etc.) and survive under huge microbial pressure levels since virus-like particle, fungal, and bacterial concentrations are estimated to be 3.10⁶.ml^-1, 10³.ml^-1, and 10⁶.ml^-1, respectively. Therefore, marine organisms have designed different strategies, such as a panel of antimicrobial compounds or an association with some micro-organisms, in order to defend their own ecological niche. The hologenome theory of evolution and the advent of new-generation DNA sequencing have highlighted the intimate relationships between microbiota and the host in cnidarian and sponges. The way that a host controls or is controlled by its own microbiota or a mixture of both remains to be clarified. Indeed, marine organisms are still underexplored at the molecular level.

To date, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a global public health threat since it is expected to be one of the leading causes of death in the world in 2050. Due to these dire predictions, a plethora of actions, networks, and calls for projects have been implemented nationally and internationally. To learn from errors, the prevention of antibiotic misuses, resistance detection, and diagnosis, but also public awarness, are leverage actions that are used to fight against antimicrobial resistance. However, it is evident that the renewal of the therapeutic arsenal in compliance with the One Health concept is one of the major priorities in treating patients. The marine holobionts still represent a mine of innovative compounds and a source of inspiration to design potent and effective antimicrobial compounds to fight AMR.

This Special Issue will focus on antimicrobial peptides since they are ubiquitous, exhibit extreme structural diversity and various bioactivities, and are antimicrobial. It aims to aggregate innovative data regarding marine AMPs, regardless of their origin (archeabacteria, eubacteria, algae, animals, or even metagenomic data mining), biosynthesis (ribosomal pathway or NRPS), mechanisms of actions (microbicidal, antibiofilm, and antivirulence), and structure–activity relationships. Original research and review articles are welcome. Scientists are invited to contribute in order to combine expertise in (meta)data mining, microbiology, biochemistry, ecology, biotechnology, cellular biology, and medicine.

Dr. Yannick Fleury
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• marine peptide
• antimicrobial
• antibiotic
• one health