A novel synthetic peptide analog enhanced antibacterial activity of the frog-derived skin peptide wuchuanin-A1

In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the development of novel antibacterial compounds
for clinical applications, such as antimicrobial peptide (AMP). Among the developed AMP, wuchuanin-
A1, a coil-shaped bioactive peptide derived from Odorrana wuchuanensis frog skin, has been reported
to exhibit antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activity, but there are limited studies on its potential
as an antibacterial agent. Therefore, this study aims to molecularly modify the sequence of
wuchuanin-A1 to enhance its antibacterial properties. The interaction of both the native and analog
peptide with bacterial inner membranes was initially assessed using computational methods. Specific
amino acid substitutions were then used to enhance the modified peptide’s antibacterial efficacy, followed
by several preliminary tests to evaluate its activity. This study bridges the gap in exploring the
potential of wuchuanin-A1 for antibacterial purposes, providing insights into the design of effective
antimicrobial agents.