Plant Lectins with Insecticidal and Insectistatic Activities

Abstract

Lectins are an important group of proteins which are spread in all kingdoms of life. Their most lighted characteristic is associated to their specific carbohydrate binding, although function has been not even identified. According to their carbohydrate specificity, several biological activities have been assessed, finding that lectins can be used as mitogenic agents, biomarkers, and cytotoxic and insecticide proteins. Lectins have been classified according to several features such as structure, source, and carbohydrate recognition. The Protein Research Group (PRG) has worked on Colombian seeds from the family of Fabaceae and Lamiaceae plants, isolating and characterizing their lectins, and found more than one lectin in some plants, indicating that according to its specificity, different lectins can have different biological activities. In the case of legume domain lectins, they have shown the biggest potential as insecticide or insectistatic agents due to the glycosylation pattern in insect midgut cells. This review attempts to identify the characteristics of plant legume lectin domains that determine their insecticidal and insectistatic activities.

Unraveling the Secrets of a Double-Life Fungus by Genomics: Ophiocordyceps australis CCMB661 Displays Molecular Machinery for Both Parasitic and Endophytic Lifestyles

“…The PA14 domain, also compatible with carbohydrate binding, can be found in glycosidases, such as beta-glucosidases in bacteria, glycosyltransferases, proteases, amidases, yeast adhesins, and bacterial toxins, such as anthrax protective antigen (PA). The fucose-specific lectin fungal domain recognizes fucosylated glycans [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 ].…”

“…Lectins are extensively studied due to their therapeutic and biotechnological potential. For Reyes-Montaño and Vega-Castro [ 73 ], lectins, depending on their carbohydrate specificity, may have different biological activities and have already been evaluated for their potential as mitogenic agents, biomarkers, insecticides, and cytotoxic. Furthermore, they stated that the lectin legume domain has the highest potential as an insecticide or insectstatic activity, given the pattern of glycolysis in insect midgut cells.…”

ConA-Like Lectins: High Similarity Proteins as Models to Study Structure/Biological Activities Relationships

“…The insecticidal potential of plant lectins is widely reported in the literature. The suggested mechanism, although not fully elucidated, appears to involve the binding to glycans present of the surface of the insect’s epithelial intestinal cells, leading to interference with digestive, protective and secretory processes [88,89]. Because most N -glycans present on the insect’s glycoproteins are of the high-mannose type, ConA-like lectins present themselves as potential insecticidal agents [90].…”

Genetically Modified Potato for Pest Resistance: Thrift or Threat?

“…However, their most distinctive role is in plant defense mechanisms against pathogens and pests. Binding to a variety of glycoproteins, plant lectins can inhibit absorption of nutrients by disruption of insect gut epithelium structure or, by interacting with targets in insect hemolymph, fat tissue and ovaries, interfere with a number of physiological processes, such as growth, development and detoxification [116]. Although they can exhibit protective roles against insect pests from different orders, lectins are particularly useful for controlling Hemiptera, that are generally less sensitive to Bt or PIs.…”