Antimicrobial peptides, also referred to as host defense peptides or "alarmins", have been identified in nearly all life forms, ranging from bacteria, fungi, plants, insects, amphibians, to mammals, including humans. As the key component of the innate immunity, these ancient peptides effectively eliminate invanding microbes such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. It is commonly believed that cationic antimicrobial peptides exert their effects via attacking anionic bacterial membranes. Currently, there is high interest worldwide in this topic with a goal of understanding the mechanism of action and developing natural antimicrobial peptides into a new generation of antibiotics. To promote the research, education, and information exchange in the field, we have created this antimicrobial peptide database and data analysis system. The data stored in APD2 were gleaned from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), Swiss-Prot Protein Knowledgebase and PubMed National Library of Medicine. The peptides in this database are in the mature and active form and primarily from natural sources ranging from bacteria, plants, insects, to animals. ... [Information of the supplier]
