Abstract
The β-glycan polysaccharide family includes cellulose, the abundant and ubiquitous plant cell wall structural polymer, invertebrate and fungal chitin, yeast cell wall glucans, hyaluronan and other extracellular matrix polymers of vertebrates, as well as numerous extracellular bacterial polysaccharides of commercial and agronomic significance. The biogenesis of these polymers is receiving increasing attention as genes encoding their synthases are discovered. Though still rudimentary our basic understanding of the biochemistry of the synthetic processes and their control is growing rapidly. This review offers an overview, from a comparative viewpoint, of our current knowledge of enzymic events in β-glycan synthesis.
