International AMP Network (iAMPNet)

A phylogenetic tree of insects is shown annotating the presence or absence of a an antimicrobial peptide gene across winged insects

Various phylogenetic secondary loss events are mapped to a tree of insects to explain the parsimony calculations necessary to explain the diversity of insect Drosomycin antimicrobial peptide genes

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are key defence molecules of the innate immune system of plants and animals. Understanding the evolutionary origins of AMPs can help to explain how immune systems acquire novelty and vary in their defensive capabilities. However, AMPs evolve rapidly, and so the origins of similar AMPs across organisms is often unclear. Furthermore, false negatives due to low search sensitivity are common and can hinder confident annotations about true absences. Due to these difficulties, understanding whether similar AMP genes found in diverse organisms represent ancestral molecules or evolutionary novelties has been challenging. In this report, we present evidence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) of the antifungal peptide gene Drosomycin across insects. We show that in Diptera, the presence of Drosomycin is restricted to the Melanogaster group and additionally the distant relative Drosophila busckii. We go on to recover Drosomycin genes in cockroaches (Blattodea), mantises (Mantodea), one katydid (Orthoptera), various beetles (Coleoptera), and a recently acquired pseudogenized Drosomycin locus in Liposcelis booklice (Psocodea), but no other insects. Explaining this diversity through shared ancestry requires at least 50 independent loss events, or just seven HGT events. Previous studies have suggested that similar AMPs found across divergent species reflect conservation from a common ancestor, or due to their small size, that they arose via convergent evolution resulting from pathogen-imposed selection. Our findings suggest horizontal gene transfer can be responsible for the presence of some AMP genes found scattered across the tree of life. By presenting a mechanism through which immune systems can acquire novelty, our study also suggests a possible explanation for certain lineage-specific competencies for defence against infectious disease. While loss of AMP genes is common in certain lineages, here we suggest gain of AMPs can occur just as suddenly.

Pleased to finally share this fun collab that began at #Ento23

@cedricaumont.bsky.social presented & I had seen NCBI annotated some cockroach genomes as "contaminated." Turns out NCBI & I were wrong (much more fun).

Horizontal transfer of an #AntimicrobialPeptide across insects
bit.ly/DrsHGT

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Follow along with an open science project on antimicrobial peptide discovery! I'm sharing all data and research notes publicly (doi.org/10.55277/Res...). Our pre-registration, funded through @researchhubf.bsky.social, builds on a recent paper published in their new Journal. 🧪

Research assistant position in the scientific project Deep optimized generation for antimicrobial peptide discovery (DOG AMP) Attachment to SOB/ KJ/ DOG-AMP/101125506/2025/1Research assistant position in the scientific projectDeep optimized generation for antimicrobial peptide discovery (DOG AMP) financed by the European Com...

1. Work on our @erc.europa.eu funded project DOG-AMP and design novel Generative AI methods for antimicrobial peptide discovery!
* Advertisement: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/329758
* More about the project: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y-_...

Fluorescent Antimicrobial Peptides Based on Nile Red: Effect of Conjugation Site and Chemistry on Wash-Free Staining of Bacteria Fluorescent probes for bacterial detection can be obtained by conjugating antimicrobial peptides with fluorescent dyes. However, little is known about the effect of the conjugation site and linker che...

I’m excited to share the first chapter of the UNR-1 story! UNR-1 is a red #fluorescent #antimicrobial peptide that stains both Gram- and Gram+ bacteria with high selectivity over eukaryotes. Stay tuned for part two with some fascinating applications!
#chembio pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

EBAMP: An efficient de novo broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide discovery framework Zhao et al. propose EBAMP, a generative-discriminative framework for de novo design of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) targeting both bacteria and fungi. EBAMP achieves a high positive rate (37.5%), exhibiting strong antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant pathogens with low toxicity, offering a promising strategy against antibiotic resistance.

EBAMP: An efficient de novo broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptide discovery framework

#MicroSky: ONE HEALTH: Choudhury et al engineered Lactococcus lactis to deliver antimicrobial peptides that selectively target Fusobacterium nucleatum, a key driver of colorectal cancer, reducing biofilms & preserving gut microbiome diversity. doi.org/10.1111/1751...

LL-37 and citrullinated-LL-37 modulate IL-17A/F-mediated responses and selectively suppress Lipocalin-2 in bronchial epithelial cells - PubMed Overall, our findings showed that LL-37 and citLL-37 can selectively suppress the abundance of IL-17A/F-mediated LCN-2, a protein that is critical for neutrophil migration in HBEC. These results sugge...

Sharing our latest publication on modulation of IL-17 mediated inflammation by #HostDefencePeptide LL-37 and citrullinated-LL-37 in the context of lung inflammation #Asthma #Immunosky #Immunomodulation #AntimicrobialPeptides pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40410820/

β-Hairpin Antimicrobial Peptides: Class Diversity and Sequence Analysis Interest in antimicrobial peptides has increased dramatically over the last few decades as researchers continue to explore their potential as alternatives to small molecules, as well as their applicat...

Our lab has a new review on beta-hairpin antimicrobial peptide diversity out in @pubs.acs.org as part of the special issue celebrating Robert E. W. Hancock. Please have a look and share!

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Get ready to AMP up your knowledge on the history and future of peptides!! In less than 24h we are hosting Prof. Charles L. Bevins for our annual History month!!

Register here:
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/fa432f...

Don't forget about our 3rd FREE webinar of the year tomorrow! There is still plenty of time to become an iAMPnet member and register at the following links:
www.iampnet.com/become-a-mem...
www.iampnet.com/s-projects-b...

Don't miss the upcoming iAMPNet Webinar on September 9th! Both iAMPNet membership and webinars are FREE! follow the link below to sign up as a member. If already a member, the webinar registration link is located at the bottom left of the iAMPNet home page!

www.iampnet.com/become-a-mem...

Cathelicidin regulates goblet cell mucus secretion and mucus-associated proteins in Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis Colonic goblet cells play a crucial role in mucosal defense by secreting Muc2 mucin and other proteins that entrap and expel enteropathogens. However, the role of innate effectors in the gut like c...

Check out this new publication from Dr. Eduardo Cobo's group exploring cathelicidin regulation of goblet cells mucus secretion in Citrobacter rodentium-induced colitis!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Cell-autonomous innate immunity by proteasome-derived defence peptides - Nature Proteasomal degradation of cellular proteins generate defence peptides constitutively and in response to bacterial infection. Such peptides might provide a source of natural antibiotics that...

Webinar TOMORROW at 16:00 CET/10:00 AM EDT regarding a breakthrough Nature paper from Prof. Yifat Merbl's group. Registration if FREE! Just sign up to become an iAMPNet member and register. Use the links below!
www.iampnet.com/become-a-mem...
events.teams.microsoft.com/event/57387b...

IMAP 2025 Programme & Abstracts Organisers of academic conferences in the peptide sciences under the auspices of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

REMINDER! the 12th International Meeting on AMPs (IMAP) is taking place in Dublin August 25-27. Abstract submission deadlines were just extended. Don't miss out on this awesome meeting! Follow the link below to download the template and submit your abstract!

peptideconferences.org/imap2025/pro...

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Proteasomes: not just cellular trash cans!

New in Nature: Prof. Yifat Merbl and team reveal a groundbreaking role for the proteasome in innate immunity.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Prof. Yifat Merbl is speaking at our free webinar May 20th. Register via our website or via following link:

Did you get our monthly newsletter? If you are member and did not receive it, check your junk box!

We are also excited to announce Prof. Yifat Merbl as our next seminar speaker on May 20th! She'll discuss Proteolysis-Driven Immunity and her recent Nature publication! Visit iampnet.com to attend.

Check out this awesome work from @alessiofragasso.bsky.social and the Jacobs-Wagner lab on single cell AMP classification!

If you would like us to potentially post your AMP related research, please send us a direct message! If you are an iAMP member please let us know in your message and feel free to use #iAMPNet in any AMP related posts!

Abstract submissions for the next International Meeting on Antimicrobial Peptides (IMAP) in Dublin are now open! For more information on how to register follow the link below!
peptideconferences.org/imap2025/home

Frog-derived synthetic peptides display anti-infective activity against Gram-negative pathogens Novel antibiotics are urgently needed since bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to existing antimicrobial drugs. Furthermore, available antib…

🧬🐸 Frogs to the rescue in the antibiotic resistance crisis?
A leap forward for antimicrobial peptide therapy? Definitely worth watching. 🧪🌍

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A diagram of Toll and IMD signalling regulation across insect species, with annotations of insect orthologues for their regulation.

A comparison of protein structures for antimicrobial peptides of related gene families across insects, showing commonalities and unifying their naming conventions.

A summary of studies to date detailing the regulation of specific AMPs across insect species.

The mechanisms & regulation of insect #antimicrobialpeptides & #HDPs is of wide interest. We now appreciate their function in vivo is much more complex than what's described in vitro.

Our primer on insect AMP regulation, evolution & function.
Pub: doi.org/10.1016/B978...
🟩OA: bit.ly/MHLH2025

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PDB101: Irina Bezsonova Gallery PDB-101: Training, Outreach, and Education portal of RCSB PDB

You can download my protein structure-inspired artwork from pdb webpage:

pdb101.rcsb.org/sci-art/bezs...

@rcsbpdb.bsky.social
@pdbeurope.bsky.social
#sciart

@cnehls.bsky.social
Forgot the @!

I've also now made a Starter Pack for the #AntimicrobialPeptide field here:

go.bsky.app/JLHHzt1

Please let me know who I am missing! This is a very incomplete list so far. I also expect many will join Bluesky later. I will happily keep populating this list! 📣🧬🦠

At the AMPs GRC? Come stop by our poster later today or chat in person with any of our committee members! iAMPNet is free to join!

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the AMPs GRC this week! Stop by poster #31 to learn more about iAMPNet and consider participating in our Mentorship Program for which we are currently recruiting!

🌟 Kick Off 2025 with Our First Webinar of the Year! 🌟

🎤 Speakers:
🔹 Belinda Omino
🔹 Padmanie Ramotar, M.Sc

Presentations will focus on research and mentorship experiences with iAMPNet!

📅 Date: January 28th
🕒 Time: 16:00 – 17:00 CET
💡 Register for free using this link: lnkd.in/eAPh62Mn

We have migrated over from X! If you are interested in antimicrobial peptide research, please join our membership at www.iampnet.com more to come soon!