Advances in Antimicrobial Peptides from the Ascidians

Antimicrobial peptides(AMPs) are pivotal elements of the innate immune defense against bacterial and fungal infections. In recent years, some antimicrobial peptides have been discovered from the hemocytes of the ascidians, they are classtified into three groups: (1)Linear amphipathic,α-helical AMPs including clavanins,styelins and clavaspirin; (2)AMPs with DOPA including plicatamide and halocyamine; (3) AMPs with a single disulfide bridge including halocidin and dicynthaurin. This review discusses the structures, functions, antimicrobial mechanism and potential uses of these peptides.The role of antimicrobial peptides in the host immunity defense is also addressed.