Inhibition of fungal growth by wheat germ agglutinin
GROWTH of fungal hyphae is the result of a complex and poorly understood process of cell wall synthesis and extension, that is restricted to the hyphal apex1–3. In fungi with chitin–glucan hyphal walls, such as the Deuteromycetes Trichoderma viride and Fusarium solani 1, hyphal extension and septa formation involve the synthesis of chitin in hyphal tips and septa4. We therefore studied the effect on such fungi of wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), a lectin which interacts specifically with chitin oligomers5,6.