A C-type lectin with a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) containing unique QPN/WDD motifs from Tegillarca granosa is involved in the innate immune defense.

C-type lectins (CTLs), a superfamily of Ca-dependent carbohydrate-recognition proteins, serve as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) in the immune response of many species. However, little is currently known about the CTLs of the commercially and ecologically important bivalve species, blood clam (Tegillarca granosa). In this study, a CTL (designated as TgCTL-1) with a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) containing unique QPN/WDD motifs was identified in the blood clam through transcriptome and whole-genome searching.