Recent progress in research on plant antifungal proteins: A review

Abstract

The intent of this article is to review plant antifungal proteins that have been purified and characterized in the last 5-6 years. The antifungal proteins reported encompass 2S albumins, amidases and ureases, chitinases, defensins and defensin-like peptides, beta-1, 3-glucanases, beta-lactoglobulin-like protein, lectins, lipid transfer proteins, peroxidases, proteases, protease inhibitors, ribonucleases, thaumatin-like proteins, and other antifungal proteins. These proteins demonstrate a diversity of structures. Some of them possess additional activities such as antiproliferative activity toward cancer cells, inhibitory activity toward viral enzymes, and specific aforementioned enzyme activities. The antifungal mechanism may involve permeabilization of fungal cell membrane, induction of reactive oxygen species, and triggering of apoptosis.