Taxonomic group: fungi / Ascomycota
(Phylum: Ascomycota)
Organ / tissue: cell wall
NCBI PubMed ID: 23615555Publication DOI: 10.1039/c3nr00813dJournal NLM ID: 101525249Publisher: Cambridge, UK: RSC Publishers
Correspondence: Yves.Dufrene
uclouvain.be
Institutions: Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Life Sciences, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, Inserm , équipe 2, Université Lille 2, Faculté de Médecine, Lille Cedex, France
Most microbes are coated with carbohydrates that show remarkable structural variability and play a crucial role in mediating microbial-host interactions. Understanding the functions of cell wall glycoconjugates requires detailed knowledge of their molecular organization, diversity and heterogeneity. Here we use atomic force microscopy (AFM) with tips bearing specific probes (lectins, antibodies) to analyze the major glycopolymers of pathogenic and non-pathogenic yeast cells at molecular resolution. We show that non-ubiquitous β-1,2-mannans are largely exposed on the surface of native cells from pathogenic Candida albicans and C. glabrata, the former species displaying the highest glycopolymer density and extensions. We also find that chitin, a major component of the inner layer of the yeast cell wall, is much more abundant in C. albicans. These differences in molecular properties, further supported by flow cytometry measurements, may play an important role in strengthening cell wall mechanics and immune interactions. This study demonstrates that single-molecule AFM, combined with immunological and fluorescence methods, is a powerful platform in fungal glycobiology for probing the density, distribution and extension of specific cell wall glycoconjugates. In nanomedicine, we anticipate that this new form of AFM-based nanoglycobiology will contribute to the development of sugar-based drugs, immunotherapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics.
Structure type: structural motif or average structure
Location inside paper: Fig. 1
Trivial name: chitin
Compound class: cell wall polysaccharide, glucan
Contained glycoepitopes: IEDB_135813,IEDB_137340,IEDB_141807,IEDB_151531,IEDB_153212,IEDB_241099,IEDB_423114,IEDB_423150,SB_74,SB_85
Methods: fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, AFM
Biological activity: strengthen cell wall mechanics, providing higher resistance to phagosomme stress; enhances immune interactions
Related record ID(s): 44855, 44856, 44877, 44889, 44899, 44914, 44915, 44916, 44917, 44923, 44925, 44940, 44941
NCBI Taxonomy refs (TaxIDs): 237561,
5478,
559292Reference(s) to other database(s): GTC:G97099AY
Show glycosyltransferases
There is only one chemically distinct structure:
Found 
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