Delandin, a chitinase-like protein with antifungal, HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitory and mitogenic activities from the rice bean Delandia umbellata.

An antifungal protein with a chitinase-like N-terminal sequence, designated delandin, was isolated from the rice bean. The protein exhibited a molecular weight of 28 kDa and was adsorbed on both blue Affi-Gel and SP-Toyopearl. It exerted antifungal action toward Mycosphaerella arachidicola, Botrytis cinerea, Fu- sarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Colletotrichum gossypii and inhibited the activity of human immunodeficiency virus 1 reverse transcriptase. The protein inhibited translation in rabbit reticulocyte lysate with a low potency. It elicited a mitogenic response from mouse splenocytes.