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Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chitin are produced each year in the biosphere. [1] It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi (especially filamentous and mushroom-forming fungi), the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae ...
The role of the chitin and proteins in such structures is more than just holding the crystals together; the crystal structure itself is so affected as to prevent the propagation of cracks under stress, leading to remarkable strength. [10] The process of formation of such mineral-rich matrices is called biomineralization. [11]
This layered structure is called peptidoglycan (formerly called murein). GlcNAc is the monomeric unit of the polymer chitin, which forms the exoskeletons of arthropods like insects and crustaceans. It is the main component of the radulas of mollusks, the beaks of cephalopods, and a major component of the cell walls of most fungi.
Chitin-glucan complex (CGC) is a copolymer (polysaccharide) that makes up fungal cell walls, consisting of covalently-bonded chitin and branched 1,3/1,6-ß-D-glucan. CGCs are alkaline - insoluble . Different species of fungi have different structural compositions of chitin and β-glucan making up the CGCs in their cell walls. [ 1 ]
Peptidoglycan or murein is a unique large macromolecule, a polysaccharide, consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like layer (sacculus) that surrounds the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane. [1] The sugar component consists of alternating residues of β-(1,4) linked N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM).
Chitosan / ˈ k aɪ t ə s æ n / is a linear polysaccharide composed of randomly distributed β-(1→4)-linked D-glucosamine (deacetylated unit) and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (acetylated unit). It is made by treating the chitin shells of shrimp and other crustaceans with an alkaline substance, such as sodium hydroxide.
Chitin Synthase is manufactured in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of fungi as the inactive form, zymogen. The zymogen is then packaged into chitosomes in the golgi apparatus. Chitosomes bring the zymogen to the hyphal tip of a mold or yeast cell membrane. Chitin synthase is placed into the interior side of the cell membrane and then activated.
The genetic material of a virus is stored within a viral protein structure called the capsid. The capsid is a "shield" that protects the viral nucleic acids from getting degraded by host enzymes or other types of pesticides or pestilences. It also functions to attach the virion to its host, and enable the virion to penetrate the host cell membrane.