Targeting the membrane: peptides and their use in microbial biotechnology

Membrane fusion is a fundamental biological process that occurs in physiological conditions as well as in different pathological events and entry into host cells by enveloped viruses is an example of how membrane fusion is used by a pathogen in order to establish an infection[1]. An updated description of Herpes simplex virus entry will be provided focusing on membrane interacting sequences[2,3,4,5]. The topic of my research has become the analysis of membrane proteins of external envelopes of both Gram-negative bacteria[6] and viruses[2], with the aim of discovering new antimicrobials or novel biotechnological tools for drug delivery. The functional and integral knowledge of the interactions between peptides and the membrane bilayer as well as the clarification of the complex interplay between the molecular determinants of membranotropic peptides, pathogens and host cells will provide a better understanding of some elusive aspects of their action and help in the rational design of novel therapeutic agents[7].