Two genes encoding fruit body lectins of Pleurotus cornucopiae: sequence similarity with the lectin of a nematode-trapping fungus.

Our previous studies on the fruit body lectin of Pleurotus cornucopiae revealed the existence of three isolectins, composed of two homodimers and one heterodimer of 16- and 15-kDa subunits. In this study, two genes encoding the lectins were cloned and characterized. Both genes encoded 144 amino acids and only 5 amino acids were different within the coding region, but the nucleotide sequences of the 5'-upstream and 3'-downstream regions differed extensively.