Isolation and characterization of a mannose-binding insecticidal lectin gene from Allium sativum (garlic) and its putative role in insect resistance using bioinformatics tools.

Monocot mannose-binding lectins (MMBLs) or agglutinins are an extended superfamily of structurally and evolutionarily related proteins. They play important roles in plant defenses. Here we describe the synthesis of full-length cDNA of monocot mannose-binding insecticidal agglutinin isolated from Allium sativum, a traditional herb known to be of great applications in Africa, using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with specific primers designed based on the insecticidal sequence (NCBI primary accession no.