Deletion of the α-(1,3)-Glucan Synthase Genes Induces a Restructuring of the Conidial Cell Wall Responsible for the Avirulence of Aspergillus fumigatus
Figure 5
Surface analysis of resting conidia of agsΔ_5T mutant and parental (ku80) strains.
(A): height images (z-range = 1 µm; recorded in water with silicon nitride tips). Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) images showing the amorphous surface without the rodlet layer on the triple agsΔ_5T mutant conidia whereas the rodlet are observed on the parental strain conidial surface. (B): TEM observations. Note the presence of an extracellular material on the surface of the agsΔ_5T conidia (arrow); CW: cell wall. (C): SDS-PAGE (15% gel) of Hydrofluoric acid (HF) extracts of rodlets from resting conidia showing the two bands, 16 kDa and 14.5 kDa of RodAp classically seen from HF treatment of the conidia [10]. Data are representative of at least three independent experiments.