Magainins are 23-residue antibiotic peptides isolated from the skin of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). They inhibit the growth of numerous species of bacteria and fungi by making pores in the membranes thus disrupting the ionic balance across membranes. The objective of this research is to study the cytotoxicity of magainin to isolated chloroplasts, and to incorporate the gene encoding an analog of magainin into tobacco and eventually cotton to enhance the resistance to various disease causing pathogens. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was utilized to synthesize the magainin gene with different signal peptides and the PCR products were cloned into pGEM vector. The gene was cloned into a binary vector and mobilized into Agrobacterium. Tobacco leaf discs were infected and transgenic plants were regenerated. Future research involves molecular analysis of transgenic plants and the assessment of resistance of transformed plants to various fungal pathogens.