Antibacterial Peptides from Plants: What They Are and How They Probably Work
Figure 3
Scheme of the action mechanism for antibacterial peptides. (a) Barrel-stave model; (i) peptides in monomer or oligomer form come close to the membrane target; (ii) positively-charged residues from the peptides interact with the head group of the phospholipids from the membrane; (iii) at a threshold concentration of peptides, the pores are formed. In toroidal model, the major difference is the type of pore formed, where lipids and peptides are overlapped. (b) Carpet model; (i) peptides in monomer or oligomers come close to the membrane target; (ii) hydrophilic regions of peptides are exposed to solvent and hydrophobic regions to membrane; (iii) at threshold concentration of peptides, the permeability of the membrane increases, facilitating pore formation; (iv) membrane disintegration. Adapted from Shai, 2002.
