From nodulation to antibiotics

Abstract

The importance and future potential of biological nitrogen-flxation is widely recognized. A further, yet unexplored and less known value of nitrogen-fixing root nodules is the presence of hundreds of plant peptides with antimicrobial activities and novel modes of action. These nodule-specific plant peptides are only produced in the Rhizobium-infected symbiotic cells where they abolish the endosymbiont’s cell division ability, transforming them to non-cultivable polyploid nitrogen-fixing cells. The symbiotic cationic peptides are able to kill a wide range of microbes, including important human pathogens. The peptides are highly stable and their interactions with multiple bacterial targets reduce the probability to develop resistance. Worldwide spreading of antibiotic resistant microbes became a major cause of mortality. Therefore there is an urgent need for novel antibiotics. The characteristics and multifaceted action of symbiotic peptides make them excellent antibiotic candidates.