A Lectin from Sesbania aculeata (Dhaincha) Roots and Its Possible Function

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S. Biswas¹, A. Saroha^1,2, and H. R. Das^1*

¹Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi University Campus, Mall Road, Delhi 110007, India; fax: 91-11-27667471; E-mail: [mailto:hdas@igib.res.in;hasidas@yahoo.com hdas@igib.res.in; hasidas@yahoo.com]

²Faculty of Natural Sciences, West Bengal University of Technology, Kolkata 700064, India

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received December 28, 2007; Revision received March 14, 2008

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A lectin was isolated from the roots of Sesbania aculeata. This is a glucose specific lectin having 39 kDa subunit molecular weight. The expression of this lectin was found to be developmentally regulated and observed to be the highest in the second week. The lectin was purified by affinity chromatography using Sephadex G-50 and found to have 28% homology with Arabidopsis thaliana lectin-like protein (accession No. CAA62665). The lectin binds with lipopolysaccharide isolated from different rhizobial strains indicating the plants interaction with multiple rhizobial species.

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KEY WORDS: Sesbania, root lectin, lipopolysaccharides

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297909030122

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