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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 ...
Chemically, chitin is a long-chain polymer of a N-acetylglucosamine, which is a derivative of glucose. The polymer bonds between the glucose units are β(1→4) links, the same as in cellulose. In its unmodified form, chitin is translucent, pliable, resilient and tough.
If chitin is detected, they then produce enzymes to digest it by cleaving the glycosidic bonds in order to convert it to simple sugars and ammonia. [31] Chemically, chitin is closely related to chitosan (a more water-soluble derivative of chitin). It is also closely related to cellulose in that it is a long unbranched chain of glucose ...
Unlike fungi, oomycetes typically possess cell walls of cellulose and glucans rather than chitin, although some genera (such as Achlya and Saprolegnia) do have chitin in their walls. [34] The fraction of cellulose in the walls is no more than 4 to 20%, far less than the fraction of glucans. [34]
Chitin vs. cellulose - comparison of how they are structured and derived from glucose. Use a color coded the haworth projection. Gel electrophoresis - a diagram illustrating that it sorts migrating fragments by size.
The fungal cell wall is made of a chitin-glucan complex; while glucans are also found in plants and chitin in the exoskeleton of arthropods, [36] fungi are the only organisms that combine these two structural molecules in their cell wall. Unlike those of plants and oomycetes, fungal cell walls do not contain cellulose. [37] [38]
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 ]
For example, cellulose is a glycan (or, to be more specific, a glucan) composed of β-1,4-linked D-glucose, and chitin is a glycan composed of β-1,4-linked N-acetyl-D-glucosamine. Glycans can be homo-or heteropolymers of monosaccharide residues, and can be linear or branched.