130 years of Plant Lectin Research

• Published in: Glycoconjugate journal Vol. 37; no. 5; pp. 533 - 551
• Main Authors: Tsaneva, Mariya, Van Damme, Els J. M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.10.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedical Research - history; Blood; Carbohydrates; Carbohydrates - chemistry; Carbohydrates - genetics; Crop improvement; Genomes; Glycomics - trends; History, 19th Century; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Lectins; Life Sciences; Ligands; Localization; Medical research; Pathology; Plant Lectins - chemistry; Plant Lectins - genetics; Proteins; Review; Review Article; Ricin; Seeds; Lectin; Plant protection; Glycobiology; Biomedical application; Protein-carbohydrate interaction
• ISSN: 0282-0080; 1573-4986; 1573-4986
• DOI: 10.1007/s10719-020-09942-y

Lectins are proteins with diverse molecular structures that share the ability to recognize and bind specifically and reversibly to carbohydrate structures without changing the carbohydrate moiety. The history of lectins started with the discovery of ricin about 130 years ago but since then our understanding of lectins has dramatically changed. Over the years the research focus was shifted from ‘the characterization of carbohydrate-binding proteins’ to ‘understanding the biological function of lectins’. Nowadays plant lectins attract a lot of attention especially because of their potential for crop improvement and biomedical research, as well as their application as tools in glycobiology. The present review aims to give an overview of plant lectins and their applications, and how the field evolved in the last decades.