EN
By now, over 800 different antimicrobial peptides have been identified in fauna and flora. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are an important part of the innate immunity of all living organisms. The first animal AMP was found in 1962 by Kiss and Michl in the venomous skin secretion of the orange speckled frog Bombina variegata. Most known AMPs are multifunctional as effectors of innate immunity and have direct antimicrobial activity against various bacteria, enveloped viruses, and fungi. Most of them share a common mechanism of antimicrobial action: permeabilization of the cell membrane of the pathogen. There is a real chance to use these peptides for developing a new generation of medicines. The present review outlines the history of studies on antimicrobial peptides and the current state of knowledge about their activity.