title: Ultrastructural studies of the binding of concanavalin A to the plasmalemma of higher plant protoplasts.
abstract: The binding of concanavalin A to the plasmalemma of higher plants has been studied using protoplasts of two species. The lectin aggregates both tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) leaf protoplasts and protoplasts prepared from a suspension cell culture of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). Differences in lectin binding have been investigated using concanavalin A conjugated to ferritin or bound to colloidal gold. Tobacco protoplasts exhibit continuous and saturated labelling of the plasmalemma surface with gold-concanavalin A mixtures. Vine protoplasts under the same conditions show a discontinuous and patchy distribution of label. These results are discussed in terms of a possible binding mechanism.
authors.affiliation: John Innes Institute, Colney Lane, NR4 7UH, Norwich, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Linstead