Plant defensin antimicrobial peptide
A short protein fragment that kills or stops the growth of bacteria and other microbes; used only as a lab research tool.
A researcher, an agent, or an algorithm wrote down the sequence and picked a target to hit.
An AI model like OpenFold3 or AlphaFold built a 3D structure and scored how well it fits the binding site.
A second contributor repeated the computation on their own hardware and the scores matched.
A chemistry service or a researcher ordered the sequence, it was manufactured, and mass spectrometry confirmed the right molecule was produced.
A binding or activity measurement confirmed that it actually does what the computer predicted — or didn't.
Research directions for this peptide, selected from the current sources — hypotheses you can explore and model. None of it is proven yet; tap any one to see the full thinking.
Does this peptide kill fungi by latching onto a specific molecular handle, rather than just tearing holes in any membrane it touches?
If it works by recognizing a lipid found mainly in fungal cells, the peptide could be far less likely to harm human cells and harder for fungi to escape by going resistant. That would matter for people with serious fungal infections, which are notoriously difficult to treat.
Could ordinary lab bacteria be tweaked to produce large quantities of this peptide in a form that actually works?
If bacteria can be engineered to fold and package this peptide correctly, the cost of making it drops dramatically, opening a realistic path toward clinical testing and eventually affordable treatment. It would also make the peptide available in quantity for deeper research.
Could this peptide attack fungi and bacteria without seriously harming the body's own cells?
If confirmed, a wide safety margin would make pep-05655 a realistic candidate for topical or inhaled antifungal treatment, where current options are limited. Patients with lung or skin fungal infections could benefit if the peptide can clear the infection without causing collateral damage.
Could a peptide developed as an antifungal also target cancer cells, because they expose a similar chemical flag on their surface?
Many cancer cells flip a lipid called phosphatidylserine to their outer surface, a feature healthy cells hide inside. If pep-05655 homes in on that signal, it could kill tumour cells while ignoring healthy tissue, and might even work against cancers that have learned to resist conventional drugs.
▸full evidence table1 metrics
| metric | value | tool |
|---|---|---|
| ranking score | 0.8189408183097839 | boltz-2 |
▸3-letter notation
▸recipeboltz-2 2.2.1
| parameter | value |
|---|---|
| model | boltz-2 2.2.1 |
| weights | — |
| hardware | vast_v100_32gb |
| mlx version | — |
| python | — |
| random seed | 1 |
| msa strategy | none_monomer |
| runtime | — |
| predicted by | — |
| predicted at | 2026-05-23 |
▸citationbibtex
@peptide{pep05655,
sequence = {KDIDGRKPLLIGTCIEFPTEKCNKTCIESNFAGGKCVHIGQSLDFVCVCFPKYYI},
target = {antimicrobial},
author = {peptidemodel},
year = {2026},
status = {computed}
}