Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, CE 60440-970, Brazil.
Molecules. 2012 May 7;17(5):5244-54. doi: 10.3390/molecules17055244.
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.
为了研究 Rhizobium tropici 菌株与从 Canavalia ensiformis（ConA）和 Canavalia brasiliensis（ConBr）种子中分离得到的凝集素之间的相互作用，进行了凝集素荧光分析。此外，还设计了一个实验来评估两种凝集素对细菌生长的影响。结果发现两种凝集素都能与 R. tropici 细胞结合，但这种相互作用受到 D-甘露糖的抑制。有趣的是，只有 ConBr 能刺激细菌生长，并且与使用的浓度成比例（15.6-500μg/ml），这种细菌生长的刺激也受到 D-甘露糖的抑制。通过生物信息学进行结构/功能分析，评估了 ConA 和 ConBr 的体积和碳水化合物识别结构域（CRD）的结构。CRD 的空间排列和体积的差异可能表明两种凝集素的生物学活性存在差异。结果表明，ConBr 可能是研究根瘤菌与宿主植物相互作用的一种很有前途的工具。
