title: Isolation, characterization and molecular cloning of the bark lectins from Maackia amurensis.
abstract: A detailed study was made of the bark lectins of the legume tree Maackia amurensis using a combination of protein purification and cDNA cloning. The lectins, which are the most abundant bark proteins, are a complex mixture of isoforms composed of two types of subunits of 32 and 37 kDa, respectively. Isolation and characterization of the homotetrameric isoforms indicated that the 32 kDa subunit exhibits a 100-fold stronger haemagglutinating activity than the 37 kDa subunit. Molecular cloning confirmed that the two lectin subunits are encoded by different genes. The 32 kDa subunit is apparently encoded by a single gene, whereas two highly homologous genes encode the 37 kDa subunit. A comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the bark lectin cDNAs and the previously described cDNA encoding the seed haemagglutinin demonstrated that they are encoded by different genes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Phytopathology and Plant Protection, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Van Damme
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Leuven
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Peumans
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D037102:Lectins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D037121:Plant Lectins; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D037102:Lectins; D037121:Plant Lectins