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PLANTS INTERACTING WITH OTHER ORGANISMS

Functional Characterization of HFR1, a High-Mannose N-Glycan-Specific Wheat Lectin Induced by Hessian Fly Larvae^1,[C],[W]

Department of Agronomy (S.S.), Department of Biochemistry (J.C.C.), Department of Botany and Plant Pathology (M.A.W.), Department of Biological Sciences (N.S.), and Department of Entomology (C.E.W.), Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907; Protein-Carbohydrate Interaction Core H, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (D.F.S.); and U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907 (C.E.W.)

We previously cloned and characterized a novel jacalin-like lectin gene from wheat (Triticum aestivum) plants that responds to infestation by Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) larvae, a major dipteran pest of this crop. The infested resistant plants accumulated higher levels of Hfr-1 (for Hessian fly-responsive gene 1) transcripts compared with uninfested or susceptible plants. Here, we characterize the soluble and active recombinant His₆-HFR1 protein isolated from Escherichia coli. Functional characterization of the protein using hemagglutination assays revealed lectin activity. Glycan microarray-binding assays indicated strong affinity of His₆-HFR1 to Man1-6(Man1-3)Man trisaccharide structures. Resistant wheat plants accumulated high levels of HFR1 at the larval feeding sites, as revealed by immunodetection, but the avirulent larvae were deterred from feeding and consumed only small amounts of the lectin. Behavioral studies revealed that avirulent Hessian fly larvae on resistant plants exhibited prolonged searching and writhing behaviors as they unsuccessfully attempted to establish feeding sites. During His₆-HFR1 feeding bioassays, Drosophila melanogaster larvae experienced significant delays in growth and pupation, while percentage mortality increased with progressively higher concentrations of His₆-HFR1 in the diet. Thus, HFR1 is an antinutrient to dipteran larvae and may play a significant role in deterring Hessian fly larvae from feeding on resistant wheat plants.

The author responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the policy described in the Instructions for Authors (www.plantphysiol.org) is: Christie E. Williams (christie.williams{at}ars.usda.gov).

^[C] Some figures in this article are displayed in color online but in black and white in the print edition.

^[W] The online version of this article contains Web-only data.

www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/doi/10.1104/pp.108.116145

^* Corresponding author; e-mail christie.williams{at}ars.usda.gov.

Received January 10, 2008; accepted May 5, 2008; published May 8, 2008.