Interaction of a mulberry leaf lectin with a phytopathogenic bacterium, P. syringae pv mori

Two N-glycolylneuraminic acid-specific lectins, MLL 1 and 2, from leaves of Morus alba were studied for their anti-bacterial activity against P. syringae pv mori, which was a specific pathogenic bacterium of the mulberry leaf. MLL 1 but not MLL 2 was found to induce the agglutination of P. syringae pv mori. The MLL 1 can induce the agglutination only at the exponential phase of the bacterial growth in a liquid medium and the agglutination was specifically inhibited by N-glycolylneuraminic acid, N-acetylgalactosamine at 12.5 mM and bovine submaxillary mucin at 0.05 &mgr;g/ml.