ISOLATION AND PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF HOST-CELL SURFACE AGGLUTININ AND ITS ROLE IN ATTACHMENT OF A BIOTROPHIC MYCOPARASITE

Cell surface proteins obtained by alkaline extraction from isolated cell walls of Mortierella pusilla and M. candelabrum, host and nonhost, respectively, of the mycoparasite Piptocephalis virginiana, were tested for their ability to agglutinate mycoparasite spores. The host cell wall protein extract had a high agglutinating activity (788 agglutination units/mg) compared with that of the nonhost extract (21 agglutination units/mg). Sodium dodecyl sulfate - polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the crude extract of the host revealed four bands, a, b, c, and d, with respective Mr of 117 000, 100 000, 85 000 and 64 000; these bands except for a faint band c, were absent from the nonhost surface. Deletion of proteins b or c from the crude protein extract of the host significantly reduced its agglutinating activity. Proteins b and c, purified by a series of procedures, were shown to be glycoproteins with glucose and N-acetylglucosamine as major saccharides. The agglutinating activity of a mixture of pure proteins b and c was over 500 times that of either glycoprotein alone, suggesting an involvement of both glycoproteins in the agglutination process. Further characterization showed that the two glycoproteins were heat-resistant with respect to their agglutinin function, which could be totally inhibited by three sugars: arabinose, glucose and N-acetyglucosamine. It is suggested that glycoproteins b and c are the two subunits of a carbohydrate-binding agglutinin present at the host cell surface and involved in agglutination and attachment of the mycoparasite germ tubes.