Cell wall alpha1-3glucans induce the aggregation of germinating conidia of Aspergillus fumigatus.
The germination of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia can be divided into four stages: breaking of dormancy, isotropic swelling, establishment of cell polarity, and formation of a germ tube. Swelling of conidia is associated in liquid medium with a multi-cellular aggregation that produced large clumps of conidia. Conidial aggregation can be specifically prevented by the addition of alpha1-3glucanase. Swollen conidia specifically adhere to insoluble alpha1-3glucan chains. Electron microscopy studies showed that cell wall alpha1-3glucan chains became exposed at the cell surface during the swelling. These results demonstrate that cell wall alpha1-3glucans play an essential role in the aggregation between swollen conidia. Experiments with alpha1-3glucan coated latex beads show that alpha1-3glucan chains interacted between them without the requirement of any other cell wall component suggesting that biophysical properties of alpha1-3glucans are solely responsible for conidial aggregation.
Fontaine
Thierry
T
Unité des Aspergillus, Institut Pasteur, 25 rue du Docteur Roux, 75724 Paris cedex 15, France. tfontain@pasteur.fr
Beauvais
Anne
A
Loussert
Céline
C
Thevenard
Benoît
B
Fulgsang
Claus C
CC
Ohno
Naohito
N
Clavaud
Cécile
C
Prevost
Marie-Christine
MC
Latgé
Jean-Paul
JP
D001232:Aspergillus fumigatus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry*; D005936:Glucans / Q000378:metabolism*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure
D005936:Glucans; C045788:alpha-1,3-glucan