Properties of Lectins in the Root and Seed of Lotononis bainesii

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Abstract
A lectin was purified from the root of L. bainesii Baker by affinity chromatography on Sepharose-blood group substance A + H. The MW of the lectin was estimated by gel filtration to be 118,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that the lectin was a tetramer composed of 2 slightly different subunits with respective MW of 32,000 and 35,000. The lectin had a hexose content of 12% (wt/wt) and contained the sugars fucose, glucosamine, mannose and xylose. Root lectin hemagglutination was preferentially inhibited by disaccharides with terminal nonreducing galactose residues. Antigens capable of cross-reaction with root lectin antibody were not detected in the seed of L. bainesii. A lectin from the seed of L. bainesii was partially purified by adsorption to pronase-treated rabbit erythrocytes. The lectin preparation had a MW of .apprx. 200,000. Galactose and galactono-1,4-lactone inhibited seed lectin hemagglutination, but lactose was ineffective. There was no evidence that the root of L. bainesii contained material antigenically related to the seed lectin.