Antibiotic-resistant pathogens are an emerging threat in this century. Epinecidin-1 is a multi-functional Antimicrobial Peptide (AMP) produced by Orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) has been shown to have extensive potentials as an alternative for current antibiotics. Due to the huge costs for the study and the production of a new drug, if an antimicrobial peptide has other beneficial functions in addition to antimicrobial activities, it would be preferred. In this study, properties and applications of Epinecidin-1 were investigated and addressed comprehensively. To achieve this, the Google Scholar search engine and three databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were used. Epinecidin-1 is a cationic AMP with an alpha-helical structure. Seven functional usages of this peptide have been reported in the literature including antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antiprotozoal, anticancer, immunomodulatory, and wound healing properties. Moreover, this peptide has high potential to be used as an active ingredient in cleaning solutions as well as application in vaccine production. Due to significant antimicrobial activities tested on bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Helicobacter pylori and also wound healing properties, Epi-1 has high potential to be considered as an important candidate for the production of new drugs and treatment of various infections including diabetic foot ulcer and peptic ulcer. Moreover, adjuvant-like properties of Epi-1 make it a suitable candidate for the studies related to an adjuvant. Other attractive properties such as anticancer effects have also been reported for this peptide which encourages further studies on this peptide.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the phenotypic and genotypic characterization of biofilm formation and spa and ica genes among clinical isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Result: This cross-sectional study was performed on 146 Staphylococcus aureus isolates from hospitalized patients in Isfahan Province Hospitals. MRSA isolates were confirmed using disk diffusion test with oxacillin disk and amplification of mecA gene by PCR assays. Ability of biofilm production was evaluated targeting the icaA and icaD genes. Of 146 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 24 (16.4%) carried mecA genes and identified as MRSA strains. Strong ability of biofilm production was seen among 76.02% (111/146) S. aureus isolates and 87.5% (21/24) MRSA strains, respectively. Also, 75.0% (18/24) MRSA isolates carried icaA and icaD was not detected in these strains. Analysis of spa gene showed 70.83% (17/24) MRSA strains were spa positive. From which 14 and 3 strains identified with one band (150, 270, 300, 360, 400 bp) and two bands (150–300 bp), respectively. According to data obtained, the prevalence of MRSA isolates from Isfahan Province Hospitals is relatively high and a remarkable percentage of them show strong power in biofilm production. Also analysis of spa gene showed a fairly large diversity among MRSA strains.