Relationship of the Major Constituents of the Neurospora crassa Cell Wall to Wild-Type and Colonial Morphology

Abstract

Relationship of the major constituents of the Neurospora crassa cell wall to wild-type and colonial morphology. J. Bacteriol. 90:1073-1081. 1965.-The relationship of cell wall to morphology in Neurospora crassa was studied by correlating the levels of structural polymers of the cell wall with wild-type and colonial morphology. The cell wall of N. crassa contains at least four major complexes: a peptide-polysaccharide complex; two glucose polymers, one of which was found to be a laminarinlike,8-1,3-glucan; and, lastly, chitin. The levels of one or more of these structural polymers are consistently altered in single-gene mutants with colonial growth, and in sorbose-induced colonial growth. The proportions of these polymers, particularly of the peptide-polysaccharide complex and the f3-1,3-glucan, appear to be important to morphology.

Sugar Alcohols (Polyols) in Fungi and Green Plants

“…Although polyols are known to exist in tbe cell wall polysaccharides of certain bacteria, they have rarely been found as components of either structural or storage polysaccharides in fungi. One recent report is that of mannitol in a laminarin-like polysaccharide in cell walls of Neurospora by Mahadevan and Tatum (1965).…”

Glucan-glucosaminoglycan linkages in fungal walls

“…However, deacetylation of N-acetylglucosamine residues in glucosaminoglycan could have occurred during preparation of the alkali-insoluble fraction (Sietsma & Wessels 1979). The alkali-soluble part of Neurospora crassa hyphal walls not only contains (I--+3)-a-oglucan (De Vries 1974) but also glycoproteins (Mahadevan & Tatum 1965, 1967. In addition to the glucan released by alkali treatment alone, another 9% was released by the combined nitrous acid and alkali extractions (Figs I and 2).…”

Potassium Transport in Neurospora

“…763 THE JOURNAL OF GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY · VOLUME 55 I1970 Energy Dependence The cell wall of Neurospora is composed mostly of neutral polysaccharides and does not contain the uronic acids common in higher plants. Work in several laboratories (25)(26)(27) has pointed to the presence of some negatively charged amino acids and phosphate residues within the wall, however, and it seemed possible that the fast component of flux might represent a stoichiometric exchange of newly added potassium ions for sodium which had been bound to the cell wall during the preincubation period. Considered simply, this case would require the fast component to be independent of metabolic energy, and therefore to be relatively insensitive to temperature changes and to metabolic inhibitors.…”