Specific molecular features in the organization and biosynthesis of the cell wall of Aspergillus fumigatus

The cell wall of Aspergillus fumigatus is composed of a branched b1,3 glucan covalently bound to chitin, b1,3, b1,4 glucans, and galactomannan, that is embedded in an amorphous cement composed of a1,3 glucan, alactomannan and polygalactosamin. The mycelial cell wall of A. fumigatus is very different from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell wall, and in particular lacks b1,6 glucans and proteins covalently bound to cell wall polysaccharides. The differences in cell wall composition between the mould A. fumigatus and the yeast S. cerevisiae are also reflected at the genomic level where unique features have been identified in A. fumigatus. A single gene codes for the glucan synthase catalytic subumit; this finding has lead to the development of a RNAi methodology for the disruption of essential genes in A. fumigatus. In contrast to the glucan synthase, multiple genes have been found in the chitin synthase and the alpha glucan synthase families; in spite of homologous sequences, each gene in each family have very different function. Similarly homologous mannosyltransferase genes are found in yeast and moulds but they lead to the synthesis of very different N-mannan structures. This chemo-genomic comparative analysis has also suggested that GPI-anchored proteins do not have a role of linker in the three dimensional organization of the fungal cell wall.