Galactose binding lectin domain structure. A cysteine-rich domain (the galactose binding lectin domain) homologous to the SUEL protein has been identified in the following proteins: Galactose binding lectin domain In molecular biology, the galactose binding lectin domain is a protein domain. It is found in many proteins including the lectin purified from sea urchin ("Anthocidaris crassispina") eggs, SUEL. This lectin exists as a disulfide-linked homodimer of two subunits; the dimeric form is essential for hemagglutination activity. The sea urchin egg lectin (SUEL) forms a new class of lectins. Although SUEL was first isolated as a D-galactoside binding lectin, it was later shown that it
Lectin their particular high specificity for foreign glycoconjugates (e.g. those of fungi, invertebrates, and animals) and used in biomedicine for blood cell testing and in biochemistry for fractionation. Although they were first discovered more than 100 years ago in plants, now lectins are known to be present throughout nature. It is generally believed that the earliest description of a lectin was given by Peter Hermann Stillmark in his doctoral thesis presented in 1888 to the University of Dorpat. Stillmark isolated ricin, an extremely toxic hemagglutinin, from seeds of the castor plant ("Ricinus communis"). The first lectin to be purified on a