Cloning of Sclerotium rolfsii lectin gene and its nematicidal activity

• Published in: Current science (Bangalore) 2010-05, Vol.98 (9), p.1185-1186
• Main Authors: Bhat, R. S., Chandrashekar, T. M., Basingi, S. M., Mallesh, S. B., Lingaraju, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acids; Cloning; Escherichia coli; Gels; Lectins; Molecular weight; Mortality; Nematodes; Open reading frames; Phytopathology; SCIENTIFIC CORRESPONDENCE; Young animals
• ISSN: 0011-3891

Several fungal lectins have been purified and characterized. Many of them play a biological role in antitumour, immunomodulatory and insecticidal activities. Sclerotium rolfsii, a soil-borne plant pathogenic fungus produces lectins that act as signalling molecules in interaction with antagonists super(1-3) and germination of sclerotial bodies super(4). A 17 kDa S. rolfsii lectin (SRL) agglutinated trypsinized rabbit and human erythrocytes and displayed a strong binding to disaccharide Gal b1 1 3 GalNAc-a- (Thomsen Friedenreich antigen) super(5) that is over-expressed in human tumour cells. SRL shared common structural topology, glycan specificity and carbohydrate-binding sites with Xerocomus chrysenteron lectin (XCL), a fungal lectin possessing anti-proliferative and insecticidal activity super(6). Considering the use of such fungal lectins in pharmaceutical and crop improvement applications, an effort was made to clone and characterize a lectin gene from S. rolfsii, and to express in Escherichia coli. Heterologously expressed lectin was checked for nematicidal activity using a common root knot nematode, Meloidogyne incognita.