130 years of Plant Lectin Research

Lectins are proteins with diverse molecular structures that share the ability to recognize and bind specifically and reversibly to carbohydrate structures without changing the carbohydrate moiety. The history of lectins started with the discovery of ricin about 130 years ago but since then our under...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Glycoconjugate journal 2020-10, Vol.37 (5), p.533-551
Main Authors: Tsaneva, Mariya, Van Damme, Els J. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biochemistry
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedical Research - history
Carbohydrates - chemistry
Carbohydrates - genetics
Glycomics - trends
History, 19th Century
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
Humans
Life Sciences
Pathology
Plant Lectins - chemistry
Plant Lectins - genetics
Review
Review Article
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Summary:Lectins are proteins with diverse molecular structures that share the ability to recognize and bind specifically and reversibly to carbohydrate structures without changing the carbohydrate moiety. The history of lectins started with the discovery of ricin about 130 years ago but since then our understanding of lectins has dramatically changed. Over the years the research focus was shifted from ‘the characterization of carbohydrate-binding proteins’ to ‘understanding the biological function of lectins’. Nowadays plant lectins attract a lot of attention especially because of their potential for crop improvement and biomedical research, as well as their application as tools in glycobiology. The present review aims to give an overview of plant lectins and their applications, and how the field evolved in the last decades.
ISSN:0282-0080
1573-4986
DOI:10.1007/s10719-020-09942-y