Fungal cell wall: Biosynthesis of glycoproteins and their importance in fungal biology Chapter uri icon

abstract

  • The fungal cell wall is a robust, but dynamic structure that covers the fungal cell and protects it from changes in the extracellular environment. The main wall components are sugars, which contribute with about 75-90%25 of the wall dry weight. Glucans, chitin, and chitosan are the main polysaccharides conforming the wall skeleton, provide strength and work as scaffold molecules to attach lipids and proteins to the cell wall. The latter are synthesised in the endoplasmic reticulum and transported to the wall by the secretory pathway, and in most of the cases are modified either by addition of the glycolipid glycosylphosphatidylinositol to the C-terminus and/or with oligosaccharides covalently attached to asparagine (N-linked glycosylation) or serine/threonine (O-linked glycosylation). Despite these glycoproteins are not as abundant as the cell wall polysaccharides, they play an important role in the cell wall integrity pathway, some of them are sensors for changes in the extracellular environment, have adhesion properties and hydrolytic activities. Thus, special attention has been given to the cell wall glycoproteins of fungal pathogens, as some of them are considered virulence factors. Here, we present an overview of the different pathways involved in the biosynthesis of cell wall glycoproteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, as these routes have been extensively studied in these organisms. In addition, evidences of their importance for the cell integrity and virulence in C. albicans are shown. © 2012 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

publication date

  • 2012-01-01