Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Plant thionins--the structural perspective.

B Stec1

  • 1The Burnham Institute for Medical Research, 10901 N. Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, 92037, USA. bstec@burnham.org

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS
|May 23, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Plant thionins are small, cysteine-rich peptides with antimicrobial properties. This review reconciles structural and biophysical studies to clarify their membrane-based toxicity mechanisms against pathogens.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Proposal for molecular mechanism of thionins deduced from physico-chemical studies of plant toxins.

The journal of peptide research : official journal of the American Peptide Society·2004
Same author

Model studies of the function of blockers on the small conductance potassium ion channel.

The journal of peptide research : official journal of the American Peptide Society·2003
Same author

On the nature of a glassy state of matter in a hydrated protein: Relation to protein function.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001
Same author

Direct structural evidence for a concerted allosteric transition in Escherichia coli aspartate transcarbamoylase.

Nature structural biology·2001
Same author

How the CO in myoglobin acquired its bend: lessons in interpretation of crystallographic data.

Acta crystallographica. Section D, Biological crystallography·2001
Same author

Crystal structure and catalytic mechanism of the MJ0109 gene product: a bifunctional enzyme with inositol monophosphatase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase activities.

Biochemistry·2001

Area of Science:

  • Plant biochemistry
  • Peptide science
  • Antimicrobial research

Background:

  • Thionins are small, cysteine-rich peptides found in plants.
  • They exhibit broad cellular toxicity and antimicrobial properties.
  • Thionins are implicated in plant defense against pathogens.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review structural and biophysical studies of thionins.
  • To define the function and mechanism of action of thionins.
  • To reconcile competing hypotheses regarding thionin toxicity.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing structural studies.
  • Analysis of recent biophysical studies.
  • Confrontation of structural data with functional evidence.

Main Results:

  • Thionins possess direct membrane-acting antimicrobial properties.
  • Structural and biophysical data provide insights into their function.
  • Controversies surrounding their precise toxicity mechanism persist.

Conclusions:

  • Thionins are key players in plant innate immunity.
  • Integrating structural and functional data is crucial for understanding thionin action.
  • Further research is needed to fully elucidate their membrane interaction and toxicity pathways.

Related Experiment Videos