TITLE:
Characterization of a Highly Potent Insecticidal Lectin from Colocasia esculenta Tuber and Cloning of Its Coding Sequence
AUTHORS:
Ayan Das, Amit Roy, Daniel Hess, Sampa Das
KEYWORDS:
Colocasia esculenta Tuber Agglutinin (CEA); Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS); Genome Walk; Hemipteran Insect; Insect Bioassay
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.2A,
February
28,
2013
ABSTRACT: Hemipteran insects are the most devastating pest for different crops of
high economic value. Colocasia esculenta tuber agglutinin (CEA), a mannose binding monocot lectin from araceae family
was previously reported by the present group to be effective against some
members of this class of pests. In the present study, efficacy of this potent
lectin has been extended to cotton aphid (Aphis gossypii) which is becoming a highly
damaging pest of cotton in recent days. Because, like other aphids, A. gossypii not only extracts the phloem fluid but also transmit disease causing viruses
and add to the high degree of yield loss. Efficacy of the lectin on cotton
aphid as well as other hemipteran insects prompted us further to clone the
protein coding gene. Very little sequence information of this gene was
available in the database. Hence, attempt had been made to study the protein
through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to have the detailed
peptide information. On the basis of the peptide homology information obtained
from LC-MS/MS the
complete coding sequence of CEA was determined. The coding sequence
corresponding to CEA was cloned further using primers designed on the basis of
above information and genome walk technology for its potential utilisation in
insect management programme.