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Galectins are a family of β -galactoside-binding lectins that play key roles in the invertebrate innate immunity system, but no galectin genes have been identified in the mud crab (Scylla paramamosain) so far. The present study is the first to clone a galectin gene (SpGal) from S. paramamosain , by the rapid amplification of cDNA ends technique based on expressed sequence tags. The full-length cDNA of SpGal was 3142 bp. Its open reading frame encoded a polypeptide of 280 amino acids containing a GLECT/Gal-bind lectin domain and a potential N-glycosylation site. The deduced amino acid sequence and multi-domain organization of SpGal were highly similar to those of invertebrate galectins, and phylogenetic analysis showed that SpGal was closely related to galectin isolated from Portunus trituberculatus. The mRNA transcripts of SpGal were found to be constitutively expressed in a wide range of tissues, with its expression level being higher in the hepatopancreas, gill, and hemocytes. The mRNA expression level of SpGal increased rapidly after the crabs were stimulated by Vibrio alginolyticus , and the maximum expression appeared at 6 h after the challenge. The lipopolysaccharide-binding ability of SpGal was dependent on its concentration, and it also exhibited agglutination activity with three Gram-negative (Aeromonas hydrophila , Chryseobacterium indologenes and Vibrio alginolyticus) and three Gram-positive (Bacillus aquimaris , Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus lysodeik) bacterial strains. In addition, hemagglutination activity with rabbit erythrocytes was observed in the absence of d -galactose. These results indicate that SpGal in S. paramamosain acts as a pattern recognition receptor to recognize a broad spectrum of microbes. The findings together indicate that SpGal plays an important role in the innate immune mechanisms of S. paramamosain against pathogenic infection. • A novel galectin in Scylla paramamosain (SpGal) was identified and characterized. • SpGal showed high sequence similarity to other crustacean galectins. • SpGal exhibited high hemagglutination activity and LPS-binding ability. • SpGal exhibited broad-spectrum bacterial agglutination activity. • SpGal may play an important role in innate immunity in S. paramamosain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]