Acinetobacter baumannii is one of the deadliest Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), responsible for 2-10% of hospital-acquired infections. Several antibiotics are used to control the growth of A. baumannii. However, in recent decades, the abuse and misuse of antibiotics to treat non-microbial diseases led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains. A. baumannii possesses a complex cell wall structure. The cell wall targeting agents remain the center of antibiotic drug discovery. Notably, the antibacterial drug discovery intends to target the membrane of the bacteria, offering several advantages over the antibiotics targeting the intracellular systems, as membrane targeting agents do not have to travel through the plasm membrane to reach the cytoplasmic targets. Microorganisms, insects, and mammals produce antimicrobial peptides as their first line of defense to protect themselves from pathogens and predators. Importantly, antimicrobial peptides are considered potential alternatives to antibiotics. This communication summarises the recently identified peptides of natural origins and their synthetic congeners acting against the A. baumannii membrane by cell wall disruption.
This article is Open Access
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