Edward K. Gilding

6 days ago | enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Mark Jackson |Edward K. Gilding |Kuok Yap |David Craik

1 Introduction The threats caused by drug resistance are increasingly evident with the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, multi-drug-resistant malaria parasites, and acquired drug-resistant cancers (Tacconelli et al. 2018; Vasan et al. 2019; Siqueira-Neto et al. 2023). New therapeutics and sustainable modes of producing them are urgently needed. Antimicrobial peptides are a promising class of therapeutics that are gaining interest for treating these drug-resistant diseases.

Aug 2, 2024 | nature.com | Edward K. Gilding |Mark Jackson |Katherine A. Farquharson |Kuok Yap |Carolyn Hogg

AbstractThe legume albumin-1 gene family, arising after nodulation, encodes linear a- and b-chain peptides for nutrient storage and defense. Intriguingly, in one prominent legume, Clitoria ternatea, the b-chains are replaced by domains producing ultra-stable cyclic peptides called cyclotides. The mechanism of this gene hijacking is until now unknown.