Cell wall composition of the yeastlike and mycelial forms of Blastomyces dermatitidis

Abstract

The thermally induced changes in the cell wall polysaccharides of Blastomyces dermatitidis strain BD64, which produces a yeastlike form (Y form) at 37 C and a mycelial form (M form) at 20 C, were examined. The cell walls of the Y and M forms contained 36 and 51% of hexoses, respectively. The M-form cell wall contained glucose, galactose, and mannose in a molar ratio of 1:0.1:0.2. The Y-form cell wall contained mainly glucose and a very small amount of galactose and mannose. The glucans of the cell wall of the Y form consisted of about 95% alpha-glucan and 5% beta-glucan, whereas those of the M-form cell wall consisted of about 60% alpha-glucan and 40% beta-glucan.