Synthesis of Lectin-Like Protein in Developing Cotyledons of Normal and Phytohemagglutinin-Deficient Phaseolus vulgaris

The genome of the common bean Phaseolus vulgaris contains a small gene family that encodes lectin and lectin-like proteins (phytohemagglutinin, arcelin, and others). One of these phytohemagglutinin-like genes was cloned by L. M. Hoffman et al. (1982] Nucleic Acids Res 10: 7819-7828), but its product in bean cells has never been identified. We identified the product of this gene, referred to as lectin-like protein (LLP), as an abundant polypeptide synthesized on the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of developing bean cotyledons. The gene product was first identified in extracts of Xenopus oocytes injected with either cotyledonary bean RNA or LLP-mRNA obtained by hybrid-selection with an LLP cDNA clone. A tryptic map of this protein was identical with a tryptic map of a polypeptide with the same SDS-PAGE mobility detectable in the ER of bean cotyledons pulse-labeled with either ³H]glucosamine or ³H]amino acids, both in a normal and in a phytohemagglutinin-deficient cultivar (cultivars Greensleeves and Pinto UI 111). Greensleeves LLP has M_r 40,000 and most probably has four asparagine-linked glycans. Pinto UI 111 LLP has M_r 38,500. Unlike phytohemagglutinin which is a tetramer, LLP appears to be a monomer by gel filtration analysis. Incorporation of ³H]amino acids indicates that synthesis of LLP accounts for about 3% of the proteins synthesized on the ER, a level similar to that of phytohemagglutinin.