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Galactosaminogalactan (commonly abbreviated as GAG or GG), is an exopolysaccharide composed of galactose and N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc). It is commonly found in the biofilm and cell wall of various fungal species.
Galactose (/ ɡ ə ˈ l æ k t oʊ s /, galacto-+ -ose, "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. [2] It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epimer of glucose. [3] A galactose molecule linked with a glucose molecule forms a lactose molecule.
Commensal fungi have ways to interact with the host immune response that, as of 2016, were not well understood. [20] Some pathogens produce chitin-binding proteins that mask the chitin they shed from these receptors. [21] [22] Zymoseptoria tritici is an example of a fungal pathogen that has such blocking proteins; it is a major pest in wheat crops.
Chitin-glucan complex (CGC) is a copolymer (polysaccharide) that makes up fungal cell walls, consisting of covalently-bonded chitin and branched 1,3/1,6-ß-D-glucan. CGCs are alkaline-insoluble. Different species of fungi have different structural compositions of chitin and β-glucan making up the CGCs in their cell walls. [1]
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]
Galactan is found in the side chains of rhamnogalacturonan I (RG-I) and is needed for gel formation in the cell walls of organisms. [7] It was observed there was less of the gelling characteristic (as well as the polymeric chains being more likely to degrade) when fewer galactans were present in the polymeric side chains. [7] [8]
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]
The cell walls of the ascomycetes almost always contain chitin and β-glucans, and divisions within the hyphae, called "septa", are the internal boundaries of individual cells (or compartments). The cell wall and septa give stability and rigidity to the hyphae and may prevent loss of cytoplasm in case of local damage to cell wall and cell membrane.