Aquatic Lectins: An Overview (A Paradigm)

Lectins are glycoproteins that are capable of binding reversibly and specifically to sugar moieties, especially the carbohydrate content of glycoproteins and glycoconjugates. Lectin could be a membrane or soluble PRR that has a pivotal role in recognition and eradication of invading microorganisms. Lectins composed of many proteins that may particularly recognize and bind sugars such as lactose, mannose, galactose, N-acetyl galactosamine, and N-acetylglucosamine, resulting in non-covalent interactions. Lectin-carbohydrate interaction is a very important part of immunity which is not only accustomed to detect pathogens, but also employed in several alternative biological processes such as cell adhesion, agglutination, opsonization, complement activation, and phagocytosis. The lectins are classified in different ways. Based on their affinity towards the monosaccharides, lectins have been grouped into five such as Galactose Binding Lectins, Fucose binding lectins, Mannose-Binding Lectins, Sialic acid-binding lectins, and N-acetyl glucosamine binding lectins. On the basis of sources, they can be classified as plant derived lectins, invertebrate lectins and vertebrate lectins.