Plant Defensins from a Structural Perspective
Valentina Kovaleva, Irina Bukhteeva, Oleh Y. Kit, Irina V. Nesmelova
Abstract
Plant defensins form a family of proteins with a broad spectrum of protective activities against fungi, bacteria, and insects. Furthermore, some plant defensins have revealed anticancer activity. In general, plant defensins are non-toxic to plant and mammalian cells, and interest in using them for biotechnological and medicinal purposes is growing. Recent studies provided significant insights into the mechanisms of action of plant defensins. In this review, we focus on structural and dynamics aspects and discuss structure-dynamics-function relations of plant defensins.
Topics & Concepts
BiologyDefensinBroad spectrumPlant metabolismFunction (biology)Computational biologyBotanyAntimicrobialEvolutionary biologyMicrobiologyGeneticsChemistryGeneCombinatorial chemistryRNAAntimicrobial Peptides and ActivitiesBiochemical and Structural CharacterizationTransgenic Plants and Applications