Carbohydrate/glycan-binding specificity of legume lectins in respect to their proposed biological functions

The lectins, proteins which specifically recognize carbohydrate moieties, h ave been extensively studied in many biochemical and structural aspects in order to establish the molecular basis of this non-catalytic event. On the other hand, their clinical and agricultural potentials have been growing fa st. Although lectins, mainly those from legume plants, had been investigate d for biological properties, studies about the physiological functions of l ectins are scarce in literature. Therefore, despite the accumulated data on lectins (as proteins), the role played by these signalizing molecules is p oorly discussed. In the light of our accumulated results on legume lectins, specially those obtained from plants belonging to the Diocleinae sub-tribe and available data in literature, we discuss here the main hypothesis of t heir functions according to their carbohydrate/glycan-binding specificity.