Principal Wall Carbohydrates in Phlyctochytrium Arcticum and Rhizophydium Patellarium (Chytridiales)

SUMMARY Chemically treated cell walls of the chytrids Phlyctochytrium arcticum and Rhizophydium patellarium were analyzed for carbohydrate composition. The presence of chitin was determined by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy and confirmed by glucosamine analysis with an amino acid analyzer. Chitin constituted slightly less than one half of the wall carbohydrates in P. arcticum and about one quarter in R. patellarium. The other principal carbohydrates detected by the paper chromatography of the acid hydrolysis products were polysaccharides containing glucose and mannose in the ratio of about 2:1 in P. arcticum