Abstract

One of the most important features of bacterial biofilms is their resistance to antibiotics and to the host immune system. In this study, we have found that a small lytic peptide, PTP-7, is very potent to Gram-positive bacteria and is able to kill antibiotic sensitive and resistant Staphylococcus aureus indiscriminately. Further studies have revealed that despite being a cationic peptide, the antibacterial activity of PTP-7 was not affected by the negatively charged extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) of biofilms. PTP-7 could diffuse into the deep layer of S. aureus biofilms to kill bacteria inside biofilms efficiently and effectively. Neither the high concentrations of metal ions nor the acidic pH in biofilms affected the activity of peptide PTP-7. It seems that the unique sequence/structure together with the resistant bacteria killing ability of peptide PTP-7 confers its anti-biofilm activity. This study sheds new light on the treatment of bacterial biofilms, especially various biofilm related infections.

• Keywords: peptide; biofilm; antimicrobial activity; Staphylococcus aureus; bacterial infections