Overall strategy for functional analysis of animal lectins.

Animal lectins elicit biological functions through the interaction with glycan ligands. To clarify the functions of the lectins, both identification of their glycan ligand structure and assessment of impact of lectin-glycan interaction on the biological event are essential strategies. This chapter focuses on two of key useful methodologies for planning experiments based on the strategies. One is the detection of lectin-glycan interaction by the multivalent display of lectins and glycans. This methodology is a powerful means for identification of the glycan ligand structure and proteins and/or lipids carrying the glycan ligands for lectins. The other is the intervention of lectin-glycan interaction to assess the biological roles of lectins. Bioinformatics especially useful for animal lectins will be also described in this chapter. The concepts described in this chapter are versatile and applicable to a wide range of animal lectin research.