Abstract
Cell walls were obtained from yeast (Y)- and rod (R)-forms of Candida krusei. These Y- and R-form cells were grown in synthetic media containing lysine and alanine as nitrogen sources, respectively. Comparative analysis of their walls showed that the Y-form wall had greater quantities of alkali-soluble glucan, alkali-insoluble glucan and mannan than the R-form wall had.
The glucan from Y-form walls had a larger amount of β-1, 3-glycosidic linkage with a few branches at the C-6 position and a smaller amount of linear β-1, 6-glycosidic linkage than the glucan from R-form walls had. There was, however, no significant difference in the chemical structure of mannan between the walls of these two forms.
The results are discussed in relation to the chemical composition and structure of polysaccharides of walls in the yeast-rod dimorphism.
