Evolution, adaptation and immune functions of fish F-type lectins. The novelty of FBL from Trematomus bernacchii (Boulenger, 1902)

Lectins are a protein family, present in almost all living organisms and involved in different biological pathways, such as immune responses. The Fucose Binding Lectin (FBL), constitute the latest lectin family identified and characterized in fishes. The FBL family is constituted by a large number of proteins exhibiting multiples of the F-type motif, either tandemly arrayed or in mosaic combinations with other domains. In an early step a FBL has been isolated and characterized from serum of the Antarctic fish Trematomus bernacchii by affinity chromatography on fucose-agarose column. A clear Bacterial agglutinating activity (BA) towards different bacteria strains (Escherichia coli, Kokuria r…