Identification and characterization of a new family of C-type lectin–like genes from planaria Girardia tigrina

• Published in: Glycobiology (Oxford) Vol. 12; no. 8; pp. 463 - 472
• Main Authors: Shagin, Dmitry A., Barsova, Ekaterina V., Bogdanova, Ekaterina A., Britanova, Olga V., Gurskaya, Nadia G., Lukyanov, Konstantin A., Matz, Mikhail V., Punkova, Natalia I., Usman, Natalia Y., Kopantzev, Eugene P., Salo, Emili, Lukyanov, Sergey A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.08.2002; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Amino Acid Motifs; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Base Sequence; Binding Sites; Calcium - metabolism; Conserved Sequence; Dugesia tigrina; Exons; Girardia tigrina; Helminth Proteins - chemistry; Introns; Key words: CTLD/multidomain free lectin/planarian gland cells/planarian; Lectins, C-Type - chemistry; Lectins, C-Type - genetics; Microtubules - ultrastructure; Molecular Sequence Data; Mucus - metabolism; Phylogeny; Planaria; Planarians - genetics; Planarians - ultrastructure; Protein Sorting Signals; Protein Structure, Tertiary; Recombinant Proteins - metabolism; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
• ISSN: 0959-6658; 1460-2423
• DOI: 10.1093/glycob/cwf056

A novel family of C-type lectin–like genes, denoted multidomain free lectin (MDFL), was identified in the freshwater planaria Girardia (Dugesia) tigrina. We cloned several genes that encode proteins comprising a signal peptide and a number of consecutive C-type lectin–like domains (CTLDs) interconnected by short linker stretches. Analyses of genomic organization, CTLD amino acid sequences, and the overall architecture of these proteins indicate that planarian proteins are a separate family of C-type lectin–like proteins. These genes are expressed in specifically differentiated gland cells of planaria and the corresponding proteins are excreted as components of the planarian body surface mucus.