DISCOIDIN

A lectin, isolated from the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum (see Acrasidae), that has a binding site for carbohydrate residues related to galactose. The lectin, that consists of two distinct species (discoidins I and II), is synthesized as the cells differentiate from vegetative to aggregation phase, and was originally thought to be involved in intercellular adhesion, but discoidin I is now thought to be involved in adhesion to the substratum by a mechanism resembling that of fibronectin in animals.