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Updated: Aug 23, 2026

Antimicrobial Peptides Produced by Selective Pressure Incorporation of Non-canonical Amino Acids
Published on: May 4, 2018
The inducible antibacterial peptides of insects
S Cociancich1, P Bulet, C Hetru
1Unité Propre de Recherche du CNRS Réponse Immunitaire et Developpement Chez les Insectes, Institut de Biologie Mòléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg, Cédex, France.
Abstract:
Insects respond to bacterial challenge by the rapid and transient synthesis of a large number of potent antibacterial peptides that are active against many different bacteria. Two families of inducible antibacterial peptides are well characterized: the cecropins and the insect defensins. A rapidly increasing number of proline- and glycine-rich peptides are reported from various insect species together with cecropins and insect defensins. In this review, Stéphane Cociancich, Philippe Bulet, Charles Hetru and Jules A. Hoffmann give an update of our current information on the induced antibacterial peptides.
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