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One of the FéRI units from INRAE and Tours University entitled "BOA" for "Avian Biology & Poultry Research" recently published a review on the biochemical and structural analyses of eggshell proteins. It provides an original approach to decipher the role of calcifying matrix proteins in the chemical defense of the egg in avian and non-avian species. The calcified eggshell is characterised by an inventory of more than 900 matrix proteins. Some are involved in shell mineralization and regulation of its microstructure and numerous others are antimicrobial proteins and peptides (AMPPs) which contribute to the innate immune protection of the egg. 

This review provides an overview of the diversity of avian eggshell AMPPs, their three-dimensional structures and their mechanism of antimicrobial activity, it also includes the published chicken eggshell proteome databases for a comprehensive inventory of its AMPPs. Finally, the repertoire of chicken eggshell AMPPs are compared to orthologs identified in other avian and non-avian eggshells. This approach sheds light on the similarities and differences exhibited by AMPPs, depending on bird species, and leads to a better understanding of their sequential or dual role in biomineralization and innate immunity.

Link to the full article : https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.946428/full