Lectin histochemistry of goblet cell sugar residues in the gut of the chick embryo and of the newborn

The anlage of duodenum, ileum and colon were removed from chick embryos of day 8-21 of incubation and from 1-day-old chicks. A battery of seven differ ent horseradish peroxidase-conjugated lectins (PNA, SEA, DBA, Con A, WGA, L TA and UEAI) was used to study the carbohydrate residues of the glycoconjug ates in the goblet cells of the three parts of the intestine. The main resu lts can be summarized as follows: differences in lectin binding were absent in the proximal and distal parts of the duodenum, ileum and colon, Lectin histochemistry showed differences among the three intestinal segments for t he time of appearance of the oligosaccharides in the goblet mucus. In the c olonic goblet cells of 1-day-old chicks, LTA and UEAI lectins showed two di fferent types of linkage of alpha-L-fucose, This is the first demonstration of UEAI reactive sites in Gallus domesticus.