Morphofunctional reaction of bacteria treated with antimicrobial peptides derived from farm animal platelets.

Classical microbiological approach and atomic force microscopy were used to evaluate the mechanisms of biological activity of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) derived from platelets of farm animals. It is established that AMPs inhibit both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) microorganisms. Differences revealed in the biological activity of AMP preparations obtained from the organisms of various species can be reduced to quantitative differences. While qualitative changes of bacterial cells were substantially similar, changes in the integrity of cell walls resulted in disintegration of the bacterial outer and/or cytoplasmic membranes.