Chemical Analysis of the Cell Wall of Ceratocystis ulmi

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Chitin and cellulose were demonstrated in the walls of conidia and hyphae of C. ulmi using standard H2SO4 and I2KI cytochemical techniques. To demonstrate cellulose, however, it was necessary first to remove chitin by converting it to chitosan and washing the chitosan out with dilute acetic acid. The above observations were verified by treating cleaned wall material with cuprammonium hydroxide. Following exposure to this reagent, the wall material was filtered out. The filtrate was neutralized in strong HC1 and yielded a precipitate. The remaining wall material was also neutralized. Both products were washed, dried and compared to known cellulose and chitin using X-ray diffraction analysis. The precipitate from the filtrate gave a pattern identical to a similar precipitate obtained from ashless filter paper. The remaining wall material yielded a pattern essentially like that of purified Eastman "Practical Chitin". Though the presence of both chitin and cellulose in the walls of fungi is not unknown, verifiable reports of this are scarce and C. ulmi may represent an exceptional situation.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: