In Vivo Biosynthetic Studies of the Dolichos biflorus Seed Lectin

The in vivo biosynthesis of the Dolichos biflorus seed lectin was studied by pulse-chase labeling experiments using [(35)S] methionine and [(14)C]glucosamine. These studies demonstrate that each of the two mature lectin subunit types are derived by the processing of separate glycosylated precursors. The appearance of the precursor to subunit I before the precursor to subunit II supports the possibility raised by previous studies that both subunit types of this lectin may originate from a single gene product.