A novel C-type lectin in the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon functions as a pattern recognition receptor by binding and causing bacterial agglutination.

C-type lectins are pattern recognition proteins that play important roles in innate immunity in invertebrates by mediating the recognition of pathogens. In this study, a novel C-type lectin gene, PmCLec, was cloned and characterized from the black tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon. The open reading frame of PmCLec is 657 bp in length. It encodes a predicted protein of 218 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass and an isoelectric point of 24086 Da and 4.67, respectively. Sequence analysis of PmCLec showed similarity to members of the C-type lectin gene superfamily. The deduced protein contains a single carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD) and four conserved cysteine residues (Cys58, Cys126, Cys141, Cys149) that are involved in the formation of disulfide bridges. PmCLec transcripts are expressed in various tiger shrimp tissues, with the highest expression in the lymphoid organ. RNAi-mediated silencing of PmCLec resulted in higher cumulative mortality of knockdown shrimp after Vibrio harveyi infection compared to the control groups. Recombinant PmCLec was successfully expressed in the E. coli system. In the presence of Ca2+, purified rPmCLec protein binds and agglutinates Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, S. hemolyticus), but only slightly binds and agglutinates E. coli and could not bind to the Gram-negative bacteria Bacillus megaterium and Vibrio harveyi. These results suggest that PmCLec functions as a pattern recognition receptor that is implicated in shrimp innate immunity.