The correlation between adhesion of schizophyllan to yeast glucan and its effect on regeneration of yeast protoplast.

Schizophyllan, a water-soluble (1-->3)-beta-D-glucan with a triple-helical conformation, adheres to yeast glucan and curdlan gel. As the molecular weight of schizophyllan decreases, both its adhesion to the water-insoluble glucans and its ability to promote the regeneration of yeast protoplasts are reduced. Therefore, we hypothesize that schizophyllan can surround yeast protoplasts by adhering to a fragment of yeast glucan remaining or/and resynthesized on the cell surface and that this encapsulation allows regeneration of the protoplast cells to occur at very high frequency.