Marine antimicrobial peptide tachyplesin as an efficient nanocarrier for macromolecule delivery in plant and mammalian cells.

Membrane-active peptides can be classified as cell-penetrating peptides and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that are known to play interchangeable roles. In this study, this dual behaviour was studied for the marine AMP, tachyplesin. It is a well-established cyclic peptide known to possess antimicrobial properties and was investigated for its cell-penetrating property and cargo delivery ability. Because of its derivation from a marine organism as well as cyclic nature, it has been shown to possess higher stability in vitro. In this study, its internalization as a cell-penetrating peptide was established and characterized in both plant and mammalian systems. It was shown to deliver cargo molecules in both living systems, emerging as an efficient nonviral macromolecule nanocarrier.