The role of antimicrobial peptides in the evolution of endosymbiotic protein import

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent an ancient mechanism for antagonizing microbial opponents, being generated by eukaryotes, eubacteria, and archaea alike [1,2]. Given the dearth in new antibiotics, there has been increasing interest in AMPs. As our understanding has grown, a tantalizing possibility has taken shape: Might these agents of competition be at the heart of the cooperative success story that gave rise to mitochondria and chloroplasts? Striking similarities suggest that the system of protein import into these endosymbiotic organelles may derive from an interplay of AMP attack and defense [3].