Arginine replacement of histidine on temporin-GHa enhances the antimicrobial and antibiofilm efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) show broad-spectrum microbicidal activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses, and have been considered as one of the most promising candidates to overcome bacterial antimicrobial resistance. Structural modification of AMPs is an effective strategy to develop high-efficiency and low-toxicity antibacterial agents. A series of peptides GHaR6R, GHaR7R, GHaR8R, and GHaR9W with arginine replacement of histidine (His) derived from temporin-GHa of Hylarana guentheri were designed and synthesized. These derived peptides exhibit antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, and GHaR8R exerts bactericidal effect within 15 min at 4 × MIC (25 µm). The derived peptides caused rapid depolarization of bacteria, and the cell membrane damage was monitored using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation assay, which suggests that they target cell membranes to exert antibacterial effects. The derived peptides can effectively eradicate mature biofilms of S. aureus. Taken together, the derived peptides are promising antibacterial agent candidates against S. aureus.