Reduction of bacterial biofilm formation using marine natural antimicrobial peptides

There is an important need for the development of new "environmentally-friendly" antifouling molecules to replace toxic chemicals actually used to fight against marine biofouling. Marine biomass is a promising source of non-toxic antifouling products such as natural antimicrobial peptides produced by marine organisms. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the efficiency of antimicrobial peptides extracted from snow crab (SCAMPs) to reduce the formation of marine biofilms on immerged mild steel surfaces. Five antimicrobial peptides were found in the snow crab hydrolysate fraction used in this study. SCAMPs were demonstrated to interact with natural organic matter (NOM) during the formation of the conditioning film and to limit the marine biofilm development in terms of viability and bacterial structure. Natural SCAMPs could be considered as a potential alternative and non-toxic product to reduce biofouling, and as a consequence microbial induced corrosion on immerged surfaces.