Figure 3

Sequence comparison and whole mount in situ hybridization of lectin coding genes A036-E7 and A049-E7. (A). Alignment of A036-E7 and A049-E7 amino acid sequences with C. echinata CEL-III reveal that they are 82.1% identical (90.6% similar) to one another and 50.4% (65.1%) and 48% (64%) to CEL-III respectively. Black boxes represent identities and grey shaded boxes similarities. Localisation of A036-E7 (B) and A049-E7 (C) transcripts (dark purple) in presettlement planula larvae (1), metamorphosing larvae (2), and postsettlement polyps viewed from the oral side (3), and in cross section with the mouth pointing upward (4). Expression in the oral ectoderm is consistent with a role in metamorphosis or defence against pathogenic microorganisms.