Taxonomic group: fungi / Ascomycota
(Phylum: Ascomycota)
Organ / tissue: cell wall
NCBI PubMed ID: 30013106Publication DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05199-0Journal NLM ID: 101528555Publisher: London: Nature Publishing Group
Correspondence: Wang T <tuowang
lsu.edu>
Institutions: Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, USA, Department of Chemistry, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA, Departments of Pediatrics, and Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, USA, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Tallahassee, USA
The high mortality of invasive fungal infections, and the limited number and inefficacy of antifungals necessitate the development of new agents with novel mechanisms and targets. The fungal cell wall is a promising target as it contains polysaccharides absent in humans, however, its molecular structure remains elusive. Here we report the architecture of the cell walls in the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy, assisted by dynamic nuclear polarization and glycosyl linkage analysis, reveals that chitin and α-1,3-glucan build a hydrophobic scaffold that is surrounded by a hydrated matrix of diversely linked β-glucans and capped by a dynamic layer of glycoproteins and α-1,3-glucan. The two-domain distribution of α-1,3-glucans signifies the dual functions of this molecule: contributing to cell wall rigidity and fungal virulence. This study provides a high-resolution model of fungal cell walls and serves as the basis for assessing drug response to promote the development of wall-targeted antifungals
cell wall, cell wall polymers, fungi, solid-state NMR
Structure type: structural motif or average structure
Location inside paper: Fig.2
Trivial name: chitosan
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: GC-MS, composition analysis, ssNMR, TFA hydrolysis, MAS-DNP
Biological activity: exhibit antimicrobial, antitumor, wound-healing and cholestrol-lowering properties
Related record ID(s): 41561, 48769, 48770, 48771, 48772, 48773, 48775, 49502, 49512, 49524, 49653, 50016, 50301, 50303, 50304, 50307, 50308, 50310, 50311, 50314, 50315, 50317, 50319, 50320
NCBI Taxonomy refs (TaxIDs): 746128Reference(s) to other database(s): GTC:G97099AY
Show glycosyltransferases
There is only one chemically distinct structure:
Found 
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