A KINETIC-STUDY ON THE REGENERATION OF CANDIDA-ALBICANS PROTOPLASTS IN THE PRESENCE OF CELL-WALL SYNTHESIS INHIBITORS

Aculeacin A and papulacandin B block cell wall regeneration in Candida albicans protoplasts at an intermediate step in which the protoplasts have not yet synthesized the rigid structure of the cell wall and are therefore still osmotically sensitive. In the presence of the antibio tics, total synthesis of glucan is not significantly lowered with resp ect to control cells, although most of it appears either in the cultur e medium or in the regenerating wall as alkali-soluble glucan. Thus, i t is proposed that echinocandins (such as aculeacin A) and papulacandi ns may not inhibit glucan synthesis per se but instead inhibit its inc orporation into the supramolecular organization of the cell wall.