MYCOLOGY

(MIC 260)

Chapter 3: FUNGAL CELL

Quote of the day
We learn:
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we personally experience
90% of what we teach to someone else

Source: Treicher (1967); Lyons, Kysilka & Pawlas (1999)

Learning outcomes
At the end of this session, students should be
able to:
1) Describe the basic components of fungal
cells.
2) Explain specific characteristics of each
components in fungal cells.
The Fungal Wall
Functions:
1. PROTECTS the underlying protoplasm
2. Determines and MAINTAIN THE SHAPE of the
fungal cell or hypha.
3. Acts as an INTERFACE between the fungus and its
environment
4. Acts as a BINDING SITE for some enzymes
5. Possesses ANTIGENIC properties which allow
interactions with other organisms.
 Hyphal Ultrastructure

Diagram illustrating the ultrastructure of a septate hypha

http://www.fungionline.org.uk/3hyphae/1hypha_ultra.html
Basic component of fungal cell wall

Secondary
wall

Primary
wall
Characteristics of Fungal Cell
Gives shape to fungi.

Gives strength to fungi.

Provides protection for the protoplasm from ultra-violet

rays (presence of melanins)

Ability to resist lysis by organic solvents such as

enzymes, toxins, osmotic integrity.

Ability to bind with metal ions.

Secretes enzymes from their walls (invertase

hydrolyses sucrose to glucose and fructose) and so
assisting in nutrition.
Chemical composition of the Wall
The cell wall is made up of:
Polymeric fibrils
1) chitin (polymers of acetylated amino sugar N-
acetyl-glucosamine)
Amorphous matrix components
1) glucan (polymers of glucose)
2) proteins (polymers of amino acids).
3) Lipids
4) Heteropolymers (mixed polymers) of mannose,
galactose etc
The types and amounts of these various components vary amongst
different groups of fungi and may even vary during the life cycle of a
single species.
Source: Google images
Arrangement of the wall components

http://www.fungionline.org.uk/3hyphae/2fungal_walls.html

The diagram above represents a section through the

mature lateral wall of hyphae of Neurospora crassa
 In general, the inner part of the wall consists of
POLYMERIC FIBRILS embedded in an AMORPHOUS
MATRIX and this is covered by further layers of matrix
material.
At the HYPHAL TIP the wall is thinner and simpler in
structure, consisting of only TWO LAYERS - an inner
layer of fibrils embedded in protein and outer layer of
mainly protein.
EXTRA LAYERS of wall material are deposited in the
lateral walls behind the extending apex -
strengthening the wall as the hypha matures.
 In the oldest parts of the hyphae (and in many fungal
spores) LIPIDS and PIGMENTS may be desposited in
the wall:
LIPIDS serve as a nutrient reserve and help prevent
desiccation
PIGMENTS, such as MELANIN, help protect the
protoplast against the damaging effects of UV radiation
Table 1: Common wall constituents found in each division of
fungi (adapted from Gooday in Gow & Gadd, 1995).
Division Fibrous Gel-like Polymer
Basidiomycota Chitin Xylomannoproteins
-(1-3), -(1-6) (1-3) Glucan
Glucan
Ascomycota chitin Galactomannoproteins
-(1-3), -(1-6)
Glucan (1-3) Glucan
Zygomycota Chitin Polyglucuronic acid
Chitosan Glucuronomannoprotei
ns
Polyphosphate
Chytridiomycota Chitin Glucan
Glucan
 Walls surround the cells of all fungi. Walls are
composites of a variety of components. Typically, the
walls contain fibrillar materials bound together by
sugars, proteins, lipids and a variety of
polysaccharides.
While the fibrillar material of the wall is largely inert,
the composition of the wall changes with time. The
functional components are important in nutrient
transport, metabolism of non-permeable substrates,
communication, and cell wall modifications.
The main identifying
characteristic of fungi is the
makeup of their cell walls.
Many contain a
nitrogenous substance
known as "chitin," which is
not found in the cell walls
of plants, but can be found
in the outer shells of some
crabs and mollusks.
Fungal cell wall is
(metabolic point of view)
very different from insect
exoskeletons or a plant cell
walls.
Composition
Approximately 80% of the wall consists of
polysaccharides. Most fungi have a fibrillar structure
built on chitin, chitosan (Zygomycotina), and -
glucans, and a variety of heteropolysaccharides. The
fibres are contained in a complex gel-like matrix.
Proteins constitute a small fraction of wall material,
rarely more than
Not all proteins have a structural role. Mating,
recognition, wall modification and nutrition involve
wall-bound proteins. Hydrophobins are expressed
constitutively, and become bound in the matrix of the
wall as the hyphae emerge in air 20%, and often as
glycoprotein.
 Hydrophobins are a group of small (~100 amino
acids) cysteine-rich proteins that are expressed only by
filamentous fungi. They are known for their ability to
form a hydrophobic (water-repellent) coating on the
surface of an object.
 Lipids are found in walls, usually in very small
concentrations. Along with hydrophobins, lipids and
waxes appear to regulate movement of water,
especially in the prevention of desiccation of cells.
Walls also contain a range of other minor components,
including pigments and salts.
Of the pigments, Melanin is a variable polymer of
aromatic components. The polymer is laid down in
walls after the initiation of wall formation. Melanin is
important for protecting the hyphae and spores from
UV stress, is essential for pathogenesis, and
attachment to surfaces of emerging hyphae from
spores. Melanin also contributes to the stabilized
fraction of organic carbon in soil.
Cell wall
The constituents of cell walls are synthesised in the
cytoplasm, linked in the walls at the hyphal tip, and
polymerised and cross-linked in the wall matrix.
Chitin and the glucans are synthesised at the plasma
membrane by enzymes embedded in the membrane.
Nucleotide sugar precursors are accepted from the
cytoplasm, linked and passed to the wall. Wall
glycoproteins are synthesised in the endoplasmic
reticulum, carried through the Golgi to the plasma
membrane, where vesicles release the glycoprotein to
the wall. Enzymes cross-linking fibrils in the wall are
released through the plasma membrane.
Chitin
Chained polymer (1-4) N-acetyl-glucosamine.
Found naturally as structural polysacharides in most
invertebrates and protistans. They are used as cell wall
components.
Gives strength where each molecule contains a unit of
sugar that is bonded by hydrogen bond to give it
rigidity.
Each microfibril of chitin gives the shape of the cell
and gives strength to mature cell walls.
Microfibrils can be of various shapes:
in yeast: short and thick
in hyphal wall: long and interwoven
Chitin (cont)
Septa is rich in chitin
Microfibrils of septa are arranged in the form of
a tangent.
Septa can be stained with calcoflour white.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae has low amount of
chitin.

Structure of chitin
 Chitosan
Chained (1-4)
glucosamine.
Result of continuous
deacetylation of
chitin.
An important
component in wall of
Zygomycetes and can
be found in ascospore
walls of
Saccharomyces
cerevisiae.
 Glucan
Most fungal walls contain -
chained glucan.
Glucan are polysaccharides
that contain only glucose as
structural components, and
are linked with -glycosidic
bonds.
Walls of Ascomycetes and
The shiitake mushroom
Basidiomycetes contain
contains beta-glucans.
(1-3) glucan with
branching of (1-6) glucan.
There are some fungi with
(1-4) glucan.
-Glucans are polysaccharides of D-glucose
monomers linked by -glycosidic bonds.

Diagram showing orientation and location

of different beta-glucan linkages.
Glycoprotein and Protein
Glycoproteins are protein that contain
oligosaccharide chains (glycans) covalently
attached to polypeptide side-chains.
Glycoproteins (include mannoprotein,
galactoprotein and xyloprotein) are important
components of the matrixs of cell walls.
Glycoprotein contain glucosamine and/or N-
acetyl glucosamine.
In parasitic fungi such as Candida albicans and
Aspergillus fumigatus, the glycoproteins are
antigens.
Mannoprotein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
are large molecules.
Glycoprotein and Protein (cont)
Hydrophobin is a very hydrophobic protein
and found in aerial hyphae of Schizophyllum
commune and are components of rodlets.
Rodlets are found on the surface of conidia of
Neurospora crassa and Aspergillus nidulans
and protects the hyphae from desiccation.
Construction
Wall construction takes place in the apical tip. Autoradiographic studies
suggest that all synthesis of chitin and glucans takes place within 1 mm
of the apex. The tip is highly plastic as the wall is laid down. Walls
rigidify with maturity. The rigidity is provided by cross-linking of
polymers, thickening of fibrils and the deposition of materials in the
interfibrillar matrix. The process is highly polarised, and reliant on
maintenance of a positive turgor pressure within the cytoplasm.
The walls have a number of characteristics which can be attributed to
components of the wall. For instance, hyphae are generally resistant to
loss of water, and yet capable of detection of signals for mating and
conjugation between compatible hyphae. The function of hydrophobins
is typical of this functional complexity located in the wall.
Communication
Conjugation such as in anastomosis and mating
reactions in fungi are similar. Different but compatible
glycoproteins, called agglutinins, in the walls of each
complementary hypha fuse to form a complex binding
the cells together. In mating, release of hormone-like
compounds precedes the binding. The hormone alters
receptor glycoproteins in the wall leading to a cascade
of changes to the fibrillar construction of the wall.
Ultimately, the wall breaks down, a conjugation tube
may connect the cells, membranes fuse linking the
cytoplasm of the two cells.
Communication
Adhesion is also mediated by fibrillar glycoproteins
embedded in a gel-like matrix. Fibrils are commonly
found where fungi attach to surfaces. The fibrils are
highly specific in where they attach, and a
complementary protein on the surface of the partner is
assumed. This system of recognition and
communication between fungi and partner is
widespread in pathogenic and mutualistic
interactions.
Hydrophobins in Walls
Hydrophobins are a large, diverse group of related
proteins found widely and only in the fungi.
Hydrophobins may constitute up to 10% of total wall
protein. Each molecule consists of a hydrophobic
domain and a hydrophilic domain. The amphipathic
structure provides the molecules with an extraordinary
potential array of functions for the fungus and in
biotechnology.
The presence of hydrophobins may also increase the
strength of the wall. (read additional notes)
Conclusion

Fungal walls consist of complex fibrillar material

embedded in polysaccharide and other compounds,
and functional complexity associated proteins and
glycoproteins. The wall may be highly protected, or
relatively susceptible to the environment, because of
various constituents in the matrix. The wall also allows
the cell to communicate with the environment,
enabling reproduction, recognition and reception.
Revision