Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1972 Apr;110(1):208–218. doi: 10.1128/jb.110.1.208-218.1972

Biochemical Studies on the Thermal Dimorphism of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis1

Fuminori Kanetsuna a, Luis M Carbonell a, Ichiro Azuma a, Yuichi Yamamura a
PMCID: PMC247400  PMID: 5018021

Abstract

The biochemical and morphological changes of the yeastlike (Y) form to the mycelial (M) form of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis were examined. The main polysaccharide of hexoses of the Y-form cell wall was α-glucan, whereas the polysaccharides of the M-form cell wall were β-glucan and galactomannan. The α-glucan of the Y form contained mainly α-(1 → 3)-glycosidic linkage. The β-glucan of the M form contained mainly β-(1 → 3)-glycosidic linkage with a few branches at C-6 position. The incorporation of 14C-glucose into the cell wall glucans showed that synthesis of α-glucan decreased rapidly after the temperature of the culture was changed from 37 to 20 C. The synthesis of β-glucan was augmented at an early stage of the morphological change. The M-form cell wall contained 12 times more disulfide linkage than the Y form. The cell-free extracts of the whole cell of the Y form had five times more protein disulfide reductase activity than the M form, whereas extracts of the M form contained five to eight times more β-glucanase activity than the Y form. From these results, a hypothesis for the production of the M form from the Y form is proposed.

Full text

PDF
208

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bacon J. S., Farmer V. C., Jones D., Taylor I. F. The glucan components of the cell wall of baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) considered in relation to its ultrastructure. Biochem J. 1969 Sep;114(3):557–567. doi: 10.1042/bj1140557. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bacon J. S., Jones D., Farmer V. C., Webley D. M. The occurrence of alpha(1-3)glucan in Cryptococcus, Schizosaccharomyces and Polyporus species, and its hydrolysis by a Streptomyces culture filtrate lysing cell walls of Cryptococcus. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1968 May;158(2):313–315. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(68)90153-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bacon J. S., Jones D., Ottolenghi P. Cell wall residues in yeast protoplast preparations. J Bacteriol. 1969 Sep;99(3):885–887. doi: 10.1128/jb.99.3.885-887.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bartnicki-Garcia S. Cell wall chemistry, morphogenesis, and taxonomy of fungi. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1968;22:87–108. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.22.100168.000511. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Bartnicki-Garcia S., Lippman E. Fungal morphogenesis: cell wall construction in Mucor rouxii. Science. 1969 Jul 18;165(3890):302–304. doi: 10.1126/science.165.3890.302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Brown C. M., Hough J. S. Protein-disulphide reductase activity in yeast. Nature. 1966 Jul 9;211(5045):201–201. doi: 10.1038/211201a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. CARBONELL L. M., RODRIGUEZ J. TRANSFORMATION OF MYCELIAL AND YEAST FORMS OF PARACOCCIDIOIDES BRASILIENSIS IN CULTURES AND IN EXPERIMENTAL INOCULATIONS. J Bacteriol. 1965 Aug;90:504–510. doi: 10.1128/jb.90.2.504-510.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Cabib E., Bowers B. Chitin and yeast budding. Localization of chitin in yeast bud scars. J Biol Chem. 1971 Jan 10;246(1):152–159. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Carbonell L. M., Kanetsuna F., Gil F. Chemical morphology of glucan and chitin in the cell wall of the yeast phase of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. J Bacteriol. 1970 Feb;101(2):636–642. doi: 10.1128/jb.101.2.636-642.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Carbonell L. M., Rodriguez J. Mycelial phase of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis and Blastomyces dermatitidis: an electron microscope study. J Bacteriol. 1968 Aug;96(2):533–543. doi: 10.1128/jb.96.2.533-543.1968. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Carbonell L. M. Ultrastructure of dimorphic transformation in paracoccidioides brasiliensis. J Bacteriol. 1969 Nov;100(2):1076–1082. doi: 10.1128/jb.100.2.1076-1082.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ELLMAN G. L. Tissue sulfhydryl groups. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1959 May;82(1):70–77. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(59)90090-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. FALCONE G., NICKERSON W. J. Identification of protein disulfide reductase as a cellular division enzyme in yeasts. Science. 1956 Oct 19;124(3225):722–723. doi: 10.1126/science.124.3225.722. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Grappel S. F., Blank F., Bishop C. T. Immunological studies on dermatophytes. IV. Chemical structures and serological reactivities of polysaccharides from Microsporum praecox, Trichophyton ferrugineum, Trichophyton sabouraudii, and Trichophyton tonsurans. J Bacteriol. 1969 Jan;97(1):23–26. doi: 10.1128/jb.97.1.23-26.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Johnston I. R. The partial acid hydrolysis of a highly dextrorotatory fragment of the cell wall of Aspergillus niger. Isolation of the alpha-(1-3)-linked dextrin series. Biochem J. 1965 Sep;96(3):659–664. doi: 10.1042/bj0960659. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Kanetsuna F., Carbonell L. M. Cell wall composition of the yeastlike and mycelial forms of Blastomyces dermatitidis. J Bacteriol. 1971 Jun;106(3):946–948. doi: 10.1128/jb.106.3.946-948.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Kanetsuna F., Carbonell L. M. Cell wall glucans of the yeast and mycelial forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. J Bacteriol. 1970 Mar;101(3):675–680. doi: 10.1128/jb.101.3.675-680.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kanetsuna F., Carbonell L. M. Enzymes in glycolysis and the citric acid cycle in the yeast and mycelial forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. J Bacteriol. 1966 Nov;92(5):1315–1320. doi: 10.1128/jb.92.5.1315-1320.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Kanetsuna F., Carbonell L. M., Moreno R. E., Rodriguez J. Cell wall composition of the yeast and mycelial forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. J Bacteriol. 1969 Mar;97(3):1036–1041. doi: 10.1128/jb.97.3.1036-1041.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Manners D. J., Masson A. J. The structures of two glucans from yeast-cell walls. FEBS Lett. 1969 Jul;4(2):122–124. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(69)80211-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Nordin J. H., Hasegawa S., Smith F., Kirkwood S. Substrate specificity of mycodextranase. Nature. 1966 Apr 16;210(5033):303–304. doi: 10.1038/210303a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Restrepo A. A reappraisal of the microscopical appearance of the mycelial phase of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. Sabouraudia. 1970 Aug;8(2):141–144. doi: 10.1080/00362177085190771. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. SMOGYI M. Notes on sugar determination. J Biol Chem. 1952 Mar;195(1):19–23. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Sandford P. A., Conrad H. E. The structure of the Aerobacter aerogenes A3(S1) polysaccharide. I. A reexamination using improved procedures for methylation analysis. Biochemistry. 1966 May;5(5):1508–1517. doi: 10.1021/bi00869a009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Spencer R. L., Wold F. A new convenient method for estimation of total cystine-cysteine in proteins. Anal Biochem. 1969 Oct 15;32(1):185–190. doi: 10.1016/0003-2697(69)90123-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES