Cationic peptides thionins

Plant defensins are cystine-rich, cationic peptides ranging in size from 45 to 54 amino acids, of which eight are cysteine. They were first discovered in wheat and barley ° and were proposed to form a novel subclass of thionins, the 7-thionins. As it became clear that they closely resemble mammalian and insect defensins in primary and secondary structure, the term plant defensins was introduced to describe these peptides. It is generally assumed that all plants express plant defensins " and that they are expressed in a wide range of plant tissue, that is, leaves, floral tissue,tubers,bark, root, pods, and seeds,with seeds in particular being from where most plant defensins have been isolated. ... 

Thionins are cystine-rich, cationic peptides and are 5kDa in size.69 They are subdivided into a/(3-thionins and y-thionins. The y-thionins are now generally... 

Thionins are specific cationic peptides produced by plants in response to infection. For example, barley produces a leaf-specific thionin, BTH6 (60). In addition, other cysteine-rich basic peptides belonging to the superfamily of peptides chat includes thionins and... 

Thionins are cystine-rich, cationic small peptides ( 5 kDa) found in monocots and eudicots. They are divided into the families of o //3-thionins and 7-thionins. As is now generally accepted practice, we will refer to 7-thionins as plant defensins, as they are structurally more closely related to mammalian and insect defensins... 

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