Occurrence of natural lectin with bacterial agglutination property in the serum of lepidopteran pest, Parasa lepida

Abstract

Insects depend on lectins for non‐self recognition and clearance of invading pathogens. Naturally occurring lectin showing specificity for galactose was purified from the serum of lepidopteran pest Parasa lepida by affinity chromatography using Sepharose 6B coupled with galactose as a gel matrix. Preliminary studies on crude serum agglutinin revealed that the agglutinin molecule showed varying degrees of specificity to avian and mammalian red blood cells tested. Among them, the highest titer of 128 was recorded against rabbit red blood cell type. The agglutinin molecule in the crude serum was stable up to 60°C and at pH between 6 and 9. Also, the hemagglutinating activity was neither dependent on divalent cations nor sensitive to ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid treatment. Galactose inhibited the hemagglutinating activity at minimum inhibitory concentration of 12.5 mM and hence it was used as a ligand for affinity chromatography. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed a single band and the molecular weight of the lectin was found to be approximately 90 kDa. Bacterial agglutination activity of the purified lectin with two significant toxin bacteria, namely Salmonella typhi and Bacillus thuringiensis, was observed.

N‐acetyl‐D ‐glucosamine‐binding lectin ( PrLec ) from the serum of healthy blue swimming crab Portunus reticulatus agglutinates Gram‐positive ( Micrococcus luteus ) and Gram‐negative ( Escherichia coli ) bacteria

“…It could be presumed that probable presence of hydrophobic amino acids in PrLec could play a role in disturbing the bacterial membrane integrity. Besides, cation independent lectins in invertebrates can efficiently bind the lipopolysaccharide of Gram‐negative bacteria whereas for Gram‐positive, it could be hypothesized that PrLec might have the ability to recognize peptidoglycan (Arokiyaraj et al, 2022; Arumugam et al, 2019; Paulchamy et al, 2020; Sreeramulu et al, 2018; Tamilarasan et al, 2021).…”

Insecticidal Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis Strains on the Nettle Caterpillar, Euprosterna elaeasa (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae)

“…Efficacy of Bt-strains in field conditions may be due to environmental factors [46], toxins degradation [47], gut microbiota competition [48], and inactivation by the target organism [49]. The lethal effect of Bt and its effectiveness was also studied in other Limacodidae pests under field conditions as a potential biocontrol agent for Acharia apicalis Dyar [50], Acharia fusca Stoll [51], and Parasa lepida Cramer [52]. The results show that Bt-strains have a specific mode of action that affects a high number of E. elaeasa caterpillars.…”

Identification of Novel Toxin Genes from the Stinging Nettle Caterpillar Parasa lepida (Cramer, 1799): Insights into the Evolution of Lepidoptera Toxins

“…The stinging nettle caterpillar, Parasa lepida , is a common pest in South-East Asia, South Asia, and Southern China that feeds on leaves of oil palm, coconut, and mango trees [ 29 , 30 ]. The caterpillar possesses urticating hairs protruding from the dorsal side along its body’s longitudinal axis ( Figure 1 ).…”