A fruiting body-specific cDNA, mfbAc, from the mushroom Lentinus edodes encodes a high-molecular-weight cell-adhesion protein containing an Arg-Gly-Asp motif.

A cDNA clone (designated mfbAc), encoding 2157 amino acids (aa), was isolated from a mature fruiting-body cDNA library of the edible mushroom Lentinus edodes. The mfbA transcript was abundant in mature fruiting bodies, detectable in immature fruiting bodies but absent in earlier developmental stages and in the vegetative mycelium. Although more abundant in the pileus than the stipe, only low levels were found in the gill tissue. The deduced MFBA protein (234.5 kDa) contained a cell-surface attachment-promoting Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif. MFBA was produced in Escherichia coli using a maltose-binding protein (MBP) fusion vector, but it was cleaved into four fragments even in a protease-deficient host. A 425-aa MFBA peptide containing the RGD motif (named MFBA(582-1006) peptide) was successfully produced using the phage T7 expression system. This MFBA(582-1006) peptide exhibited a cell adhesion and spreading activity toward mammalian cells. This activity of the MFBA fragment was competitively inhibited by the Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser-Pro peptide but not by the Gly-Arg-Gly-Glu-Ser-Pro peptide, showing that the RGD motif of MFBA is essential for the cell-binding activity.