Localization of chitin in algal and fungal cell walls by light and electron microscopy

Chitin was visualized in cell walls after hydrolysis with potassium hydroxide and subsequent postfixation of the deacetylated polysaccharide (chitosan) in OsO4. Areas of chitin deposition appeared dark borwn by light microscopy and electron dense in the electron microscope. With this method, the presence of chitin was demonstrated in the cell walls of the green alga Pithophora oedogonia (Montagne) Wittrock and two fungi, Ceratocystis ulmi Buism. (C. Moreau) and Blastocladiella emersonii Cantino and Hyatt. Most of the chitin in P. oedogonia ws found in the crosswall disk and small amounts occurred in the outer longitudinal walls. The septal disk of C. ulmi also contained chitin, but significant amounts were present in the inner and outer regions of longitudinal walls as well. Chitin was present throughout the walls of B. emersonii. Small amounts of chitin were not easily demonstrated by this technique, but removal of chitosan by exposure to dilute acetic acid before osmium fixation disrupted cell wall integrity, suggesting that small amounts of the structural polysaccharide had been removed.