Agglutinin isolectin 1 | |||||||
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Identifiers | |||||||
Organism | |||||||
Symbol | WGA1 | ||||||
PDB | 2uvo | ||||||
UniProt | P10968 | ||||||
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Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) is a lectin that protects wheat (Triticum) from insects, yeast and bacteria. An agglutinin protein, it binds to N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and Sialic acid.[1] Succinylated WGA is selective for β-N-acetylglucosamine (β-GlcNAc), making it a useful tool for detecting O-GlcNAc. N-acetyl-D-glucosamine in the natural environment of wheat is found in the chitin of insects, and the cell membrane of yeast & bacteria. WGA is found abundantly—but not exclusively—in the wheat kernel, where it got the 'germ' name from. In mammals the N-acetyl-D-glucosamine that WGA binds to is found in cartilage[2] and cornea[3] among other places. In those animals sialic acid is found in mucous membranes, e.g. the lining of the inner nose, and digestive tract.
In solution, WGA exists mostly as a heterodimer of 38,000 daltons. It is cationic at physiological pH. It contains a Carbohydrate-binding module called CBM18.
WGA is also widely used in biological research. Since WGA binds to glycoconjugates, it can be used to label cell membranes,[4] fibrotic scar tissue[5] and arbuscular mycorrhizae[6] for imaging and analysis.