The cbpA gene: role of the 26,000-dalton carbohydrate-binding protein in intercellular cohesion of developing Dictyostelium discoideum cells.

The loss of the lectin-like activity of a 26,000-dalton carbohydrate-binding protein (CBP-26) results in the loss of aggregation competence and cell-cell cohesiveness in developing cells of Dictyostelium discoideum. The lesion responsible for this phenotype behaves like a mutation in the structural gene for CBP-26, maps in linkage group II, and has been designated cbpA1. In aggregation-competent revertants, the degree of aggregation competence and cell-cell cohesiveness is directly related to the specific activity of CBP-26. Thus, CBP-26 appears to play an essential role in cell aggregation through the cell-cell cohesion process.