The chemical composition of the wall of six species of Aphanoascus: the taxonomic significance of the presence of α-(1–2) (1–6) mannan and α-(1–4) glucan

Fungal cell wall polysaccharides isolated from Discula destructiva spp

The alkali-extractable water-soluble polysaccharides F1SS isolated from the cell wall of four species of Discula destructiva have been studied by methylation analysis and NMR spectroscopy, and their idealized structures established as [structure: see text] where n approximately 2 for strains CBS 109771 and CBS 133.91, n approximately 1 for CBS 132.91, and it has an intermediate value in strain CBS 130.91. The mannan core was obtained by mild hydrolysis of the F1SS polysaccharide and its structure consisted of a skeleton of alpha-(1-->6)-mannopyranan, with around one out of eleven residues substituted at C-2 by short chains (one to six units) of 2-substituted mannopyranoses.

Chemical structure of a polysaccharide isolated from the cell wall of Arachniotus verruculosus and A. ruber

The structure of a cell wall alkali-extractable and water-soluble polysaccharide isolated from two species of Arachniotus has been established by reductive cleavage and NMR spectroscopy. The linear polysaccharide consists of a regular disaccharide-repeating unit with the structure: [-->6)-beta-D-Galf-(1-->5)-beta-D-Galf-(1-->](n)-->mannan core.

Structural analysis of the polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Porphyromonas gingivalis strain W50

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Porphyromonas gingivalis is an important pro-inflammatory molecule in periodontal disease and a significant target of the host's specific immune response. In addition, we recently demonstrated using monoclonal antibodies that the Arg-gingipains of P. gingivalis are post-translationally modified with glycan chains that are immunologically related to an LPS preparation from this organism. In the present investigation, we determined the structure of the O-polysaccharide of P. gingivalis W50 that was fully characterized on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR (DQF-COSY, TOCSY, NOESY, ROESY, 1H-13C HSQC and 1H-31P HXTOCSY) and GC-MS data. These data allowed us to conclude that the O-polysaccharide is built up of the tetrasaccharide repeating sequence: -->6)-alpha-D-Glcp-(1-->4)-alpha-L-Rhap-(1-->3)-beta-D-GalNAc-(1-->3)-alpha-D-Galp-(1--> and carries a monophosphoethanolamine residue at position C-2 of the alpha-rhamnose residue in a nonstoichiometric (approximately 60%) amount. These data indicate that the O-polysaccharide of P. gingivalis LPS is composed of an unusually modified tetrasaccharide repeating unit.

Chemical components and their locations in the Verticillium fungicola cell wall

The chemical structure of cell walls and fractions of Verticillium fungicola, a pathogen of Agaricus bisporus, as well as their corresponding ultrastructures were studied. There are at least three chemically distinct types of carbohydrate polymers: one yielding mannose with lower amounts of galactose and glucose (glucogalactomannan), another one composed mainly of glucose (glucan), and a third one containing only N-acetylglucosamine (chitin). Attempts were made to locate these materials in situ by comparing electron micrographs of shadowed and sectioned cell walls, and also by indirect immunofluorescence. It was shown that none of these polymers constituted a completely physically distinct layer, but there seem to be different solubility properties in the outer, inner, and intermediate layers. It was also shown that fibrillar material (chitin) embedded in cementing glucan constituted the residual inner fraction of the original wall material. Indirect immunofluorescence showed the location of a significant amount of glucogalactomannan on the surface of the walls in which rodlet structures were visualized by electron microscopy.

Galactomannans from the cell walls of species of Paecilomyces sect. Paecilomyces and their teleomorphs as immunotaxonomic markers

An alkali-extractable and water-soluble fraction (F1S) was obtained from cell walls of Paecilomyces variotii and species of the related genera Talaromyces, Byssochlamys and Thermoascus. The structure of the main polysaccharide of these fractions was studied and found to consist of a core of (1 --> 6)-alpha-mannopyranose partially substituted at 0.2 by chains of galactofuranose and shorter chains of mannopyranose. The differences in the regularity of the branching points and the length of the galactofuranose side chains are useful to distinguish between species. These differences were detected by immunological methods, since highly specific polyclonal antibodies were raised against these polysaccharides. Mycelium of P. variotii CBS 990.73A was stained by indirect immunofluorescence. The polysaccharides studied in this work differ from the one described for species from section Isarioidea, and this is another indication of the heterogeneity of the genus Paecilomyces.

The utility of mitochondrial DNA restriction analysis in the classification of strains of Chrysosporium (hyphomycetes)

The taxonomy of the fungal genus Chrysosporium is mainly based on morphological features. In our current studies we have found several Chrysosporium species which showed intermediate morphological characteristics between several species. For this reason, we have carried out an analysis of the mitochondrial DNA restriction fragments of these strains that have permit us to classify each isolate strain in a species.

Structural studies of fungal cell-wall polysaccharides from two strains of Talaromyces flavus

The water-soluble cell-wall polysaccharides isolated from strains CBS 352.72 and 310.38 of Talaromyces flavus have been investigated by chemical analyses and NMR studies. Two different skeletons coexist, having the structures: [formula:see text]. The small differences between the polysaccharides isolated from both strains are probably due to slight diminution of branching in strain 352.72, as compared with strain 310.38.

Chemical structure and conformational features of cell-wall polysaccharides isolated from Aphanoascus mephitalus and related species

The structures of cell-wall mannans isolated from Aphanoascus mephitalus, A. fulvescens, A. verrucosus, and A. reticulisporus have been investigated by chemical analyses and 1D and 2D 1H and 13C NMR techniques. It was found that all of them consists of a relatively simple comb-like structure of the disaccharide repeating block [-->6)-[alpha-Manp-(1-->2)]-alpha-Manp-(1-->]. The conformations around the alpha-(1-->2) and alpha-(1-->6) linkages in these kinds of polymers were also studied by using molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations, together with NOE data. The results are similar to those found within the oligosaccharide chains of glycoproteins, with a well-defined conformation for the alpha-(1-->2) linkage and a certain restriction around the alpha-(1-->6) bonding imposed by the 2-substitution.