Histoplasma capsulatum: chemical variability of the yeast cell wall

Four strains of Histoplasma capsulatum were analyzed to observe any variations in their cell wall composition. Strain G-184B produced the same amount of sugars reported by Domer (2) although qualitative analyses agreed with Kanetsuna's report (4) as far as the presence of glucose, galactose, and mannose was concerned. Our results agree with previous reports in classifying H. capsulatum into chemotypes I and II, the latter having more alpha-glucan in its cell wall. A decrease in the amount of fraction 2 (alpha-glucan) of strain G-184B was observed when the strain was subcultured in vitro for many years, an effect similar to that reported for Paracoccidioides brasiliensis (12, 13).