Membrane selectivity by W-tagging of antimicrobial peptides

► Membrane selectivity is shown for W/F-tagged short and highly charged peptides. ► These display broad-spectrum antimicrobial effect, but low toxicity to human cells. ► Parallel selectivity for anionic and cholesterol-void lipid membranes. ► Replacing cholesterol with ergosterol yields increased peptide-induced lysis. ► The generality of the membrane selectivity for related peptides is demonstrated.