Publication details
Seven-bladed beta-propeller lectins from entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus laumondii
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Bacteria from the genus Photorhabdus are known for a complicated life cycle that involves symbiosis with nematodes of the genus Heterorhabditis and pathogenicity towards insects The complicated life cycle of Photorhabdus-Heterorhabditis complex is thoroughly studied and very well described. Photorhabdus has three distinct and obligatory roles to play in the life cycle. First, kill the insect host; second, support the nematode development and growth; third, colonize the gut of newly formed IJs. In all these roles, lectins could be involved. Lectins, in general, are a well-known group of proteins capable of binding saccharide compounds with unusually high specificity. They facilitate cell-to-cell interactions on the molecular level in multiple physiological and pathophysiological processes throughout nature. In this work, we focus on the characterization of 5 structurally related lectins from P. laumondii subsp. laumondii TT01. Various methods were used to determine their binding specificity and structure (e.g. glycan array, isothermal titration calorimetry, X-ray crystallography). To determine their biological function, experiments with insect hemocytes and nematode symbiont were conducted. The production of lectins during bacterial growth was monitored with qPCR. The results suggest that these lectins are involved in the early stages of the infection, helping Photorhabdus to overcome the host defense mechanisms. |
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