Around 500 new natural antimicrobial peptides were discovered between 2015 and 2019, including ones from frogs, shrimp, bacteria, and humans that kill drug-resistant pathogens in novel ways.
~500 new AMPsApproximately 500 new natural antimicrobial peptides were discovered and registered in the AMP database between 2015 and 2019 alone
What the researchers found
Between 2015 and 2019, approximately 500 new natural antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were discovered and registered in the antimicrobial peptide database. This review highlights the most notable discoveries, including: teixobactin (a cell-wall-inhibiting peptide antibiotic), darobactin (which targets outer membrane protein assembly in Gram-negative bacteria), cOB1 (a sex pheromone from gut bacteria that kills multidrug-resistant E. faecalis at picomolar concentrations), urumin (a frog peptide that specifically inhibits H1 influenza A virus), and TLN-58 (a newly discovered alternative human cathelicidin peptide that proves one gene can produce multiple antimicrobial peptides).
The review also highlights the expanding functional roles of AMPs beyond infection-fighting — including a fly peptide called nemuri that induces sleep, linking immune defense to sleep regulation.
Why it matters
Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, and new antimicrobial strategies are urgently needed. Natural antimicrobial peptides represent a vast, largely untapped reservoir of potential new drugs. The diversity of sources (bacteria, plants, shrimp, frogs, rats, flies, humans) and mechanisms of action highlighted in this review suggests that nature has already engineered solutions to drug-resistant infections — we just need to find and develop them.
The numbers in context
~500 new AMPs discovered 2015–2019 · cOB1 active at picomolar concentration · Urumin targets H1 influenza A · TLN-58 is a new human cathelicidin · Rat rattusin forms 5 intermolecular disulfide bonds
How the study worked
Narrative review highlighting selected notable antimicrobial peptide discoveries from 2015–2019, drawn from the antimicrobial peptide database. The review covers peptides from diverse organisms including bacteria, plants, shrimp, amphibians, rodents, insects, and humans.
Who was studied
Not applicable (review article covering antimicrobial peptide discoveries from multiple species)
What this study cannot tell us
As a selective review, this paper highlights noteworthy discoveries rather than providing a comprehensive or systematic analysis of all 500 new AMPs. Most of the highlighted peptides are at the early discovery stage — their therapeutic potential in humans remains largely untested. The translation from laboratory antimicrobial activity to clinical drug development faces many hurdles.
How to read the evidence
This is a narrative review summarizing discoveries from the antimicrobial peptide database. It provides an excellent survey of the field but does not present original experimental data or use systematic methodology.
When this study was published
Published in 2020 covering 2015–2019 discoveries. The AMP field continues to advance rapidly, and many more peptides have been discovered since this review.
The bigger picture
The antimicrobial resistance crisis demands fundamentally new approaches. Unlike traditional antibiotics, antimicrobial peptides have evolved over hundreds of millions of years alongside bacteria, and resistance to them develops much more slowly. The sheer diversity of new AMPs being discovered — from deep-sea shrimp to canola plants to commensal gut bacteria — suggests we've barely scratched the surface of nature's antimicrobial toolkit. The expanding roles of AMPs beyond infection (like sleep regulation) also hint at broader therapeutic applications.
Questions still open
- Can any of these newly discovered AMPs be developed into clinically viable antibiotics, or will stability and toxicity issues limit their translation?
- How does the connection between antimicrobial peptides and sleep (via nemuri) affect our understanding of why infections make us sleepy?
- Could the discovery of TLN-58 as a second human cathelicidin lead to new immune-boosting therapies?
Common questions
Why are antimicrobial peptides considered a promising alternative to antibiotics?
Where do these antimicrobial peptides come from?
Read the original research
Spotlight on the Selected New Antimicrobial Innate Immune Peptides Discovered During 2015-2019.
Current topics in medicinal chemistry, 20(32), 2984-2998
Citation
Dang, Xiangli; Wang, Guangshun. (2020). Spotlight on the Selected New Antimicrobial Innate Immune Peptides Discovered During 2015-2019.. Current topics in medicinal chemistry, 20(32), 2984-2998. https://doi.org/10.2174/1568026620666201022143625