β-1,6-Glucan plays a central role in the structure and remodeling of the bilaminate fungal cell wall.

Abstract

The cell wall of human fungal pathogens plays critical roles as an architectural scaffold and as a target and modulator of the host immune response. Although the cell wall of the pathogenic yeast <i>Candida albicans</i> is intensively studied, one of the major fibrillar components in its cell wall, β-1,6-glucan, has been largely neglected. Here, we show that β-1,6-glucan is essential for bilayered cell wall organization, cell wall integrity, and filamentous growth. For the first time, we show that β-1,6-glucan production compensates the defect in mannan elongation in the outer layer of the cell wall. In addition, β-1,6-glucan dynamics are also coordinated by host environmental stimuli and stresses with wall remodeling, where the regulation of β-1,6-glucan structure and chain length is a crucial process. As we point out that β-1,6-glucan is exposed at the yeast surface and modulate immune response, β-1,6-glucan must be considered a key factor in host-pathogen interactions.