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Chitin synthesis and inhibition: a revisit
Author(s) -
Cohen Ephraim
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.363
Subject(s) - chitin , chitin synthase , biochemistry , biology , cell wall , membrane , microbiology and biotechnology , insect , botany , chitosan
Chitin is an abundant biologically important aminopolysaccharide composed of N ‐acetyl‐ D ‐glucosamine units. Individual polymers, which are synthesized intracellularly by chitin synthase (CS), a membrane‐bound glycosyl transferase, are translocated across the plasma membrane and coalesce to form rigid crystallites. These crystallites, inter alia , are integral parts of septa and cell walls in yeast and filamentous fungi, respectively, and of cuticles in invertebrates, notably crustaceans and insects. Despite decades of intensive research, many events associated with the complexity of chitin formation and deposition are still obscure, or only partially understood. The list includes the hormonal control of CS at the transcriptional and translational levels as well as the post‐translational CS packaging; trafficking and guidance of CS clusters to proper sites in the cells and their intricate insertion into the plasma membranes; activation of the catalytic step and its control or modulation; and translocation of chitin chains across cell membranes, their orientation, fibrillogenesis and association with other extracellular structural components such as polysaccharides (fungi) and cuticular proteins (insects). Also the precise biochemical lesions inflicted by CS inhibitors, such as the acylurea insect growth regulators, are largely unclear. The recent isolation and sequencing of insect CS genes should help in elucidating various aspects of chitin biochemistry and inhibition. In particular, the large number of transmembrane segments, characteristic of the insect CS, are speculated to be involved in chitin translocation and are expected to shed light on the mode of action of acylurea insecticides. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry

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