Piscidins are potent, broad-spectrum, host-produced antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that appear to constitute the most common AMP family in teleost fish. Here, we show that piscidin 2 has potent activity against the water mould Saprolegnia, one of the most important pathogens of freshwater fish. The minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC₁₀₀) of piscidin 2 against zoospores of three pathogenic isolates of Saprolegnia ranged from 12.5 to 25.0 μg mL⁻¹. This piscidin concentration is well within levels that have been estimated to be present in at least some fish (1-32.5 μg mL⁻¹). In the presence of either copper or malachite green, two drugs commonly used to treat water moulds, there was evidence for partial synergism (PSYN) with piscidin 2. There was also evidence for PSYN after exposure of the ciliate parasite Tetrahymena pyriformis to piscidin 2 plus copper. Our data provide further evidence that piscidins may be an important host defence against skin and gill pathogens and that the piscidin levels in host tissue might influence the success of drug treatments.
© 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.