Antimicrobial Peptides from Fish
Résumé
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are ubiquitous in the living kingdom. Some bioactive peptides have shown numerous bioactivities such as antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral. In this chapter, the general properties of antimicrobial peptides from fish are discussed. Moreover, the authors have focussed on AMPs known to date, produced by farmed fish and fish-associated bacteria. An emerging category of AMPs-like molecules consisting of proteolytic fragments of inactive protein is also discussed. Microbial infections are among the most destructive diseases that affect vertebrate and invertebrate species in aquaculture. Despite the impact that diseases have on aquatic organisms, we know relatively little about what farmers can do to prevent and treat infections and how fight fish diseases. Difficulties in controlling infections in aquaculture are mainly due to the absence of commercial vaccines and the absence of specific therapeutic agents. In the long term, alternative treatments using antimicrobial peptides and probiotics may be developed.