Practice question

Fungal cell wall provides rigidity, osmotic protection and shape differing chemically from plant cell wall. Major structural polysaccharide is chitin, polymer of beta-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine forming microfibrils crosslinked with beta-glucans and mannoproteins for strength. Chitin also occurs in arthropod exoskeletons, absent in plants which use cellulose. Cellulose predominates in oomycetes and plants, peptidoglycan in bacteria, silica in diatoms. Chitin synthesis via chitin synthases at hyphal tips confers resistance to microbial enzymes, serves as target for antifungal drugs like echinocandins affecting glucan assembly and mycoses treatment.