title: Lectin from Canavalia brasiliensis seeds (ConBr) is a valuable biotechnological tool to stimulate the growth of Rhizobium tropici in vitro.
abstract: To study the interactions between a Rhizobium tropici strain and lectins isolated from the seeds of Canavalia ensiformis (ConA) and Canavalia brasiliensis (ConBr), a lectin fluorescence assay was performed. In addition, an experiment was designed to evaluate the effect of the two lectins on bacterial growth. Both lectins were found to bind to R. tropici cells, but the interactions were inhibited by D-mannose. Interestingly, only ConBr stimulated bacterial growth in proportion to the concentrations used (15.6-500 μg/mL), and the bacterial growth stimulation was inhibited by D-mannose as well. Structure/Function analyses by bioinformatics were carried out to evaluate the volume and carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) configuration of ConA and ConBr. The difference of spatial arrangement and volume of CRD may indicate the variation between biological activities of both lectins. The results suggest that ConBr could be a promising tool for studies focusing on the interactions between rhizobia and host plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE 60440-970, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mayron Alves
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: de Vasconcelos
authors.forename: Claudio Oliveira
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: Francisco Vassiliepe Sousa
authors.initials: FV
authors.lastname: Arruda
authors.forename: Victor Alves
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.forename: Fabio Martins
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Mercante
authors.forename: Luiz Gonzaga
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: do Nascimento Neto
authors.forename: Giselly Soares
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.forename: Bruno Anderson Matias
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Edson Holanda
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Teixeira
authors.forename: Benildo Sousa
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Cavada
authors.forename: Ricardo Pires
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: dos Santos
mesh_terms: D001681:Biological Assay; D032449:Canavalia / Q000737:chemistry*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008358:Mannose / Q000494:pharmacology; D008958:Models, Molecular; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation / Q000502:physiology; D037121:Plant Lectins / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D042162:Rhizobium tropici / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D037121:Plant Lectins; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate; D008358:Mannose