Abstract
<jats:p>Plants lack an adaptive immune system; instead, they have developed an innate immunity system to defend themselves against pathogenic organisms. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent one of the most effective components of this protection system. These molecules have attracted considerable attention because of their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity, structural stability, and low toxicity toward mammalian cells, making them promising candidates for the development of novel antifungal agents. Avocado fruit has become an important food in the human diet and is also rich in bioactive compounds, including AMPs. Two AMPs from avocado have been indentified: 1) The defensin (PaDef1) and 2) Snakin (PaSn1) that are expressed abundantly in the fruit. The most common fungal infections in humans are those caused by Candida species, which are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. These pathogens have shown reduced susceptibility to fungicides commonly used for their control. In this study, both peptides were characterized and evaluated for their antifungal activity against the clinically relevant human pathogens Candida albicans and Candida glabrata. PaDef was chemically synthesized from its mature peptide sequence, whereas recombinant PaSn was produced through heterologous expression. Sequence analyses confirmed that PaDef conserves the characteristic structural features of type-1 plant defensins, including the conserved cysteine residues, CSαβ fold, and γ-core motif, while PaSn exhibited the typical GASA/Snakin domain with 12 conserved cysteine residues. Results showed that both peptides exhibited antifungal activity against Candida species at different concentrations, suggesting that avocado-derived AMPs may represent promising alternatives or complementary agents for the development of new antifungal therapies.</jats:p>