Alamethicin is an antibiotic peptide belonging to a class of membrane active peptides of fungal origin called peptaibols. It contains an unusual amphiphilic amino acid, 2-aminoisobutyric acid, which strongly induces helical peptide structures and forms voltage-gated ion channels in the lipid bilayers of cell membranes. Alamethicin is often used to study ion channel assembly, voltage gating, and peptide-membrane interactions. Alamethicin is also widely used as agent to induce various physiological and defense responses in eukaryotic cells including plants.
