MEDICAL MYCOLOGY

Dr Tadayo Hashimoto M.D.
Professor
Department of Microbiology & Immunology

5. The cell walls of most fungi:

are the target of penicillin action
contain teichoic acid and peptidoglycan
contain chitin and ß-1 : 3-linked glucan
lack antigenicity
contain sterols

(C) Unlike bacterial cell walls, fungal cell walls do not contain peptidoglycan or teichoic acid. The lack of penicillin target (peptidoglycan) make all fungi insensitive to penicillin or related antibiotics. Most fungal cell walls contain chitin (a polymer of 1 : 3linked Nacetylglucosamine), glucans (or mannan or galactan), and proteins. Calcofluor white is a highly sensitive fluorescent stain that binds chitin and cellulose (some fungi have cellulose in the cell wall). Because of the presence of glucans, fungal cell walls react positively to the periodic acid-Schiff reagent. They are all immunogenic when introduced to animals. Sterols are localized in the cytoplasmic membrane, not in the cell wall. (Joklik et al, pp. 1073-1076; Ryan et al, p. 571)

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