[Carbohydrate specificity of lectins from luminescent bacteria].

The presence of lectins on a cell surface was demonstrated for 70 cultures of luminescent bacteria using hemagglutination reactions. It was shown that hemagglutination of luminescent bacteria is inhibited by glucose, maltose, fructose, mannose, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. The differences in the inhibition of hemagglutination of luminescent and nonluminescent (spontaneous mutants) symbiotic cultures by N-acetyl-D-galactosamine were revealed. The fact that N-acetyl-D-galactosamine inhibits hemagglutination of the luminescent symbiotic bacteria but does not inhibit hemagglutination of the symbiotic cultures lacking luminescence suggests that lectins with N-acetyl-D-galactosamine specificity are possibly involved in the formation and functioning of the symbiosis of luminescent bacteria with marine animals possessing luminous organs.