5 The Ascomycetous Cell Wall: From a Proteomic Perspective

Cell walls are essential organelles for fungi; they define cell shape during growth and provide osmotic integrity and protection against harmful influences in the growth environment. Fungal walls also play an important role in developing fungal infections as they form the first contact between the pathogen and the host immune system. In many ascomycetes, the cell wall consists of a polysaccharide matrix surrounded by a layer of covalently bound glycoproteins. With the complete genome sequences being available for many species, cell wall research in recent years has largely focused on identifying and elucidating the functions of cell wall proteins. In this chapter, we discuss, with a main fo…