Consisting of chitinous microfibrils embedded in the matrix of small polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, inorganic salts, and pigments
◦Chitin is a (-1-4)-linked polymer of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (GlcNAc)
◦Produced in cytosol (from UDP GlcNAc into chains of chitin by chitin synthetase)
◦The chitin microfibrils are transported to the plasmalemma and subsequently integrated into the new cell wall