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

Abstract

Cell walls were obtained from the mycelial and blastospore forms of C. albicans; these were delipidized and separated into alkali-soluble andalkali-insoluble fractions. The detailed composition of these fractions was determined in organisms grown on different media at 37[degree]and on the same medium at different temperatures (blastospores 30[degree], mycelium 40"). The composition of the wall of each form was 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 1/3 as much protein. The protein from these 2 fractions showed marked differences in amino acid composition. Differences between the 2 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 fungi.