Purification and characterization of a lectin from Fusarium sp LR11 having complex sugar specificity

Abstract

Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins found in virtually all groups of living organisms. They find applications in (1) isolation of glycoproteins, (2) structural studies of carbohydrates, (3) identification of cell surface sugars and (4) detection of cell surface changes during differential, development and malignancy. The biological role of lectins is a consequence of their binding to the cell surface carbohydrates. Fusarium is a well-known plant pathogen, and found to be involved in substantial loss of several economically important crops such as tomato, chickpea and soybean. High specificity of fungal lectins for complex glycans makes them useful in the biochemical study of membrane and cell wall glycoconjugates. Investigation was carried out to purify and characterize the Fusarium sp. lectin, and to determine its structure-function relationship.