Biology of Natural and Synthetic Lantibiotics and Their Current application Status

Abstract

Lantibiotics are the posttranslationally modified antimicrobial peptides. They assume their functional forms through a proteolytic processing, and are extruded by the release machinery to the extracellular milieu. Repeating peptidoglycan units of the target cell wall or integral lipids of the membrane, such as phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine, appear to serve as the specific binding targets of these antibacterial agents. A cohort of natural lantibiotics from diverse species of bacteria now exist along with their modified and engineered forms. Insights have been gained into the practical aspects of this inventory covering areas from bacterial pathogens to deadly viruses and cancer types. This chapter attempted to reflect the current status of the lantibiotics biology and of their functional magnitude.