Investigation of the Structure of Rhizopus Cell Wall with Lytic Enzymes

The components and structure of the cell wall of Rhizopus delemar were investigated using purified lytic enzymes, protease and chitosanase from Bacillus R-4 and chitinase II from Streptomyces orientalis. When these enzymes were used individually they only partially lysed the cell wall, but when allowed to react on the cell wall together, a complete lysis was achieved by cooperative action. These modes of action on the cell wall and the chemical and morphological data suggested that the cell wall structure was different in Rhizopus delemar of Zygomycetes from filamentous fungi of Euascomycetes and that its wall structure might be composed mainly of chitin fibers cemented by chitosan and protein or peptides scattered in a mosaic manner.