Unprecedented glycosidase activity at a lectin carbohydrate-binding site exemplified by the cyanobacterial lectin MVL

Glycan microarray profiling, NMR spectroscopy and mutagenesis have shown that one of the two oligomannose bidning sites of Microcystis viridis lectin (MVL) has catalyzed the cleavage of chitin fragments to GlcNAc in order to determine the mode of MVL binding to and cleavage of chitotriose. The studies have shown the dual catalytic activity and carbohydrate recognition for discrete oligosaccharides at the same carbohydrate-binding site in a lectin.