Abstract
THE taxonomic position of Coccidioides immitis, the causative agent of coccidioidomycosis, has been debated for some time. It is evident from the method of endosporulation exhibited both in the parasitic phase and under certain cultural conditions1,2 that the mature Coccidioides cell is a sporangium and the endospores, sporangiospores. This indicates a probable relationship with the Phycomycetes3,4 and even possibly with the sub-class, Zygomycetes5. However, certain characteristics inconsistent with such a relationship, including the development of a richly septate mycelium and the absence of definite sporangiophores, present some taxonomic difficulties. Nevertheless, as noted by Emmons5, the sporangia of many of the Zygomycetes (for example, Mortierella and Syncephalis) present so many anomalies that Coccidioides may well find a place within the group. Frey6 has shown that the Phycomycetes may be divided into two distinct groups: the one having cellulose (Oomycetes), the other having chitin (Blastocladiales and Zygomycetes) as skeletal material of their cell walls. Therefore, we thought it might be of interest to isolate and identify the non-water-soluble polysaccharide forming the skeleton of the cell wall of C. immitis.
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BLANK, F., BURKE, R. Chemical Composition of the Cell Wall of Coccidioides immitis . Nature 173, 829 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1038/173829a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/173829a0
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