Datura stramonium agglutinin: cloning, molecular characterization and recombinant production in Arabidopsis thaliana

Datura stramonium seeds contain at least three chitin-binding isolectins [termed Datura stramonium agglutinin (DSA)] as homo- or heterodimers of A and B subunits. We isolated a cDNA encoding isolectin B (DSA-B) from an immature fruit cDNA library; this contained an open reading frame encoding 279 deduced amino acids, which was confirmed by partial sequencing of the native DSA-B peptide. The sequence consisted of: (i) a cysteine (Cys)-rich carbohydrate-binding domain composed of four conserved chitin-binding domains and (ii) an extensin-like domain of 37 residues containing four SerPro4-6 motifs that was inserted between the second and third chitin-binding domains (CBDs). Although each chitin-binding domain contained eight conserved Cys residues, only the second chitin-binding domain contained an extra Cys residue, which may participate in dimerization through inter-disulfide bridge formation. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry, the molecular mass of homodimeric lectin composed of two B-subunits was determined as 68,821 Da. The molecular mass of the S-pyridilethylated B-subunit were found to be 37,748 Da and that of the de-glycosylated form was 26,491 Da, which correlated with the molecular weight estimated from the deduced sequence. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the dsa-b demonstrated hemagglutinating activity. Recombinant DSA-B was produced as a homodimeric glycoprotein with a similar molecular mass to that of the native form. Moreover, the N-terminus of the purified recombinant DSA-B protein was identical to that of the native DSA-B, confirming that the cloned cDNA encoded DSA-B.