Figure 4.

Characterization of the cpkk1‐null mutant strain. (A) Resistance to cell wall enzymatic digestion. The Δcpkk1 strain showed an extreme sensitivity to enzymatic digestion, resulting in a larger number of spheroplasts per millilitre, when compared with the Δcpku80 strain (1.7 × 10⁷ ± 0.56 × 10⁷ versus 0.24 × 10⁷ ± 0.07 × 10⁷). (B) Confocal micrographs of Δcpkk1 and Δcpku80 mycelia after calcofluor white staining. Hyphae of the cpkk1‐null mutant are thinner and less septated than those of the wild‐type. (C) Graphical representation of the number of septa per micrometre observed in the Δcpkk1 and Δcpku80 strains (0.29 ± 0.04 versus 0.54 ± 0.12). Data were analysed with one‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Tukey's test, P < 0.05.