Gal f -Specific Neolectins: Towards Promising Diagnostic Tools.

In the absence of naturally available galactofuranose-specific lectin, we report herein the bioengineering of Gal f NeoLect, from the first cloned wild-type galactofuranosidase ( Streptomyces sp. strain JHA19), which recognises and binds a single monosaccharide that is only related to nonmammalian species, usually pathogenic microorganisms. We kinetically characterised the Gal f NeoLect to confirm attenuation of hydrolytic activity and used competitive inhibition assay, with close structural analogues of Gal f , to show that it conserved interaction with its original substrate. We synthetised the bovine serum albumin-based neoglycoprotein (Gal f NGP), carrying the multivalent Gal f units, as a suitable ligand and high-avidity system for the recognition of Gal f NeoLect which we successfully tested directly with the galactomannan spores of Aspergillus brasiliensis (ATCC 16404). Altogether, our results indicate that Gal f NeoLect has the necessary versatility and plasticity to be used in both research and diagnostic lectin-based applications.