A N‐acetyllactosamine‐specific cell‐binding activity in a plant pathogen, Erwinia rhapontici

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Abstract
A strain of the phytopathogenic bacterial species, Erwinia rhapontici, was found to cause hemagglutination of human erythrocytes that was specifically inhibited by β-galactosides. Of the monosaccharides tested, N-acetyl galactosamine and galactose efficiently inhibited the hemagglutination. The most potent inhibitor identified was Galβ1—4GlcNAc that was 30–100-fold more potent than Galβ1—3GlcNac or Galβ1—3GalNAc. Fetuin had no effect on the hemagglutination whereas asialofetuin was inhibitory. No blood group specificity was found for the hemagglutinin. These findings indicate that the E. rhapontici strain possesses a novel bacterial cell-binding activity with specificity for terminal N-acetyllactosamine residues