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Abstract
Biosynthesis of cell-wall glucans was studied during regeneration of protoplasts from Schizophylhum commune. Double-labelling experiments using [14C]glucose and [3H]glucose indicated a larger pool size of precursors for an alkali-insoluble (1 → 3)-β-glucan than for the other cell-wall components, (1 → 3)-β-glucan and chitin. Pulse-chase experiments established the existence of a water-soluble, partly alkali-soluble (1 → 3)-β-glucan as a precursor for the alkali-insoluble wall glucan, containing only (1 → 3)-β-linkages. Polyoxin D, an inhibitor of chitin synthase, completely arrested accumulation of alkali-insoluble (1 → 3)-β-glucan. This antibiotic did not inhibit the synthesis of the water-soluble glucan, but prevented the incorporation of this material into the alkali-insoluble glucan/chitin complex. Cycloheximide added at the start of regeneration prevented the synthesis of the alkali-insoluble (1 → 3)-β-glucan and of the water-soluble glucan precursor, whereas no effect on the formation of the alkali-insoluble glucan was observed when cycloheximide was added 3 h after the onset of the regeneration.
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