Ribosome-inactivating Proteins from Phytolaccaceae

The plant family Phytolaccaceae is a rich source of ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs), including the first characterized non-toxic type 1 RIP, pokeweed antiviral protein from the plant Phytolacca americana. The antiviral property is important because of its potential for defense against plant pathogens, obviously plant viruses being a key issue. Some of the Phytolaccaceae proteins have been reported to have antifungal properties. The data and potential applications are reported in this chapter