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Chitin (C 8 H 13 O 5 N) n (/ ˈkaɪtɪn / KY-tin) is a long-chain polymer of N -acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chitin are produced each year in the biosphere. [1] It is a primary component of cell walls in ...
Most true fungi have a cell wall consisting largely of chitin and other polysaccharides. [28] True fungi do not have cellulose in their cell walls. [16] In fungi, the cell wall is the outer-most layer, external to the plasma membrane. The fungal cell wall is a matrix of three main components: [16]
A typical arthropod exoskeleton is a multi-layered structure with four functional regions: epicuticle, procuticle, epidermis and basement membrane. [1] Of these, the epicuticle is a multi-layered external barrier that, especially in terrestrial arthropods, acts as a barrier against desiccation. The strength of the exoskeleton is provided by the ...
As chitin is a component of the cell walls of fungi and exoskeletal elements of some animals (including mollusks and arthropods), chitinases are generally found in organisms that either need to reshape their own chitin [2] or dissolve and digest the chitin of fungi or animals.
The fungal cell wall is made of a chitin-glucan complex; while glucans are also found in plants and chitin in the exoskeleton of arthropods, [36] fungi are the only organisms that combine these two structural molecules in their cell wall. Unlike those of plants and oomycetes, fungal cell walls do not contain cellulose. [37] [38]
This relationship is supported by a number of observed differences between the characteristics of oomycetes and fungi. For instance, the cell walls of oomycetes are composed of cellulose rather than chitin [11] and generally do not have septations. Also, in the vegetative state they have diploid nuclei, whereas fungi have haploid nuclei.
Chitosan is produced commercially by deacetylation of chitin, which is the structural element in the exoskeleton of crustaceans (such as crabs and shrimp) and cell walls of fungi. [4] [1] [2] The degree of deacetylation (%) can be determined by NMR spectroscopy and the degree of deacetylation in commercially available chitosan ranges from 60 to ...
GlcNAc is the monomeric unit of the polymer chitin, which forms the exoskeletons of arthropods like insects and crustaceans. It is the main component of the radulas of mollusks, the beaks of cephalopods, and a major component of the cell walls of most fungi. Polymerized with glucuronic acid, it forms hyaluronan.