Cell Wall Composition of the Mycelial and Blastospore Forms of Candida albicans

TLDR

Cell walls from mycelial and blastospore forms of Candida albicans were delipidized, fractionated into alkali‑soluble and alkali‑insoluble components, and their compositions analyzed in cultures grown on various media at 37 °C and on the same medium at 30 °C for blastospores and 40 °C for mycelium. The wall composition of each form remained essentially unchanged across growth conditions, except for variations in mannose and glucose, while the mycelial alkali‑insoluble fraction contained three times more chitin and one‑third the protein of blastospores, with distinct amino‑acid profiles and differing carbohydrate and protein levels in the alkali‑soluble fractions.

Abstract

SUMMARY: Cell walls were obtained from the mycelial and blastospore forms of Candida albicans; these were delipidized and separated into alkali-soluble and alkali-insoluble fractions. The detailed composition of these fractions was determined in organisms grown on different media at 37° and on the same medium at different temperatures (blastospores 30°, mycelium 40°). The composition of the wall of each form was found to be constant, irrespective of growth conditions, except for some variation in the amounts of mannose and glucose in wall hydrolysates. The alkali-insoluble fraction from the mycelial form contained 3 times as much chitin as that from blastospores and only about one third as much protein. The protein from these two fractions showed marked differences in amino acid composition. Differences between the two morphological forms in the amounts of carbohydrate and protein in the alkali-soluble fractions were also found. The results are discussed in relation to other studies of cell-wall composition in the dimorphic