Extensive amino acid sequence homologies between animal lectins.

We have established the amino acid sequence of the beta-D-galactoside binding lectin from the electric eel and the sequences of several peptides from a similar lectin isolated from human placenta. These sequences were compared with the published sequences of peptides derived from the beta-D-galactoside binding lectin from human lung and with sequences deduced from cDNAs assigned to the beta-D-galactoside binding lectins from chicken embryo skin and human hepatomas. Significant homologies were observed. One of the highly conserved regions that contains a tryptophan residue and two glutamic acid residues is probably part of the beta-D-galactoside binding site, which, on the basis of spectroscopic studies of the electric eel lectin, is expected to contain such residues. The similarity of the hydropathy profiles and the predicted secondary structure of the lectins from chicken skin and electric eel, in spite of differences in their amino acid sequences, strongly suggests that these proteins have maintained structural homologies during evolution and together with the other beta-D-galactoside binding lectins were derived from a common ancestor gene.