This thesis represent a review on the recent literature dealing with the presence, expression, biological function and defence role of antimicrobial peptides in Teleosts. These substances have been investigated in fish since late ‘90s and currently at least 40 peptides are known, being synthesized in several tissues and organs (skin, gills, kidney, spleen, liver, digestive tract) starting from the larval stage. They represent a primary line of defence (innate or aspecific) against the microbial aggressions originating from the aquatic environment.
The results of preliminary investigations suggest that antimicrobial peptides could represent an alternative to antibiotics in the therapy of infectious diseases, therefore the current research is aimed to the synthesis of these molecules by recombinant DNA technologies and to the selection of fish stocks able to over-express them.
