title: Insecticidal and antifungal activity of a protein from Pouteria torta seeds with lectin-like properties.
abstract: This paper describes the purification and characterization of a novel protein from the seeds of Pouteria torta (family Sapotaceae). The protein was purified by a combination of gel filtration, ion-exchange, and reverse phase chromatographies. SDS-PAGE of the purified protein resulted in a single protein band of 14 kDa in the presence and absence of DTT. The lectin-like activity of pouterin was best inhibited by glycoproteins such as fetuin, asialofetuin, heparin, orosomucoid, and ovoalbumin. Pouterin inhibited the growth of the fungi Fusarium oxysporum and Colletotrichum musae and of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The incorporation of pouterin into an artificial diet (final concentration = 0.12%, w/w) caused 50% mortality in larvae of the insect Callosobruchus maculatus, whereas 0.08% pouterin produced an ED50.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Purificação de Proteínas e suas Funções Biológicas, Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, CP 210, CEP 79603-011 Três Lagoas, MS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Paula de A
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Boleti
authors.forename: Maria das Graças M
authors.initials: Md
authors.lastname: Freire
authors.forename: Mirela B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.forename: Walciane da
authors.initials: Wd
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Paulo A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Baldasso
authors.forename: Valdirene M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Gomes
authors.forename: Sérgio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marangoni
authors.forename: José C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Novello
authors.forename: Maria Lígia R
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Macedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001517:Coleoptera; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000187:drug effects; D003337:Corpus Callosum; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005670:Fusarium / Q000187:drug effects; D006384:Hemagglutination / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides; D037102:Lectins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D032132:Pouteria / Q000737:chemistry*; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D007306:Insecticides; D037102:Lectins; D010940:Plant Proteins