Antimicrobial Peptides: A Potential Therapeutic Alternative for the Treatment of Fish Diseases

Abstract

Fish losses from infectious diseases are a significant problem in aquaculture worldwide. However, peptide antibiotics show potent activity against a broad range of pathogens including fish pathogens. Therefore, the ability of antimicrobial peptides to protect fish against infections caused by fish pathogens clearly shows the potential for utilisation of antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of fish diseases. The strategy of overexpressing the antimicrobial peptide genes in transgenic fish may provide a method of decreasing fish disease problems in aquaculture.