Cell wall polysaccharides have been used as chemotaxonomic markers in a number of fungal genera. In this study, alkali-extractable and water-soluble cell wall polysaccharides F1SS were purified from cell walls of species of the genus Geosmithia. Chemical and 1H-NMR analyses of these polysaccharides revealed three different structures: (i) the polysaccharide from Geosmithia namylowskii was composed of β-(1[Formula: see text]5)-galactofuranose chains attached to an α-(1[Formula: see text]2)-(1[Formula: see text]6)-mannan core identical to that isolated in several species of Eupenicillium, (ii) the polysaccharide from Geosmithia viridis was a glucomannogalactan similar to that obtained in Talaromyces flavus, and (iii) the polysaccharide from Geosmithia putterillii contained β-(1[Formula: see text]5)-(1[Formula: see text]6)-galactofuranose with some units of the β-(1[Formula: see text]5) residues substituted at position O-6 by single residues of galactofuranose; this galactan was attached to an α-(1[Formula: see text]2)-(1[Formula: see text]6)-mannan core. The taxonomy of the genus is discussed according to the polysaccharides F1SS, and our results are compared with the results of rDNA analyses in this genus.Key words: Eurotiales, Geosmithia, Eupenicillium, Talaromyces, cell wall polysaccharides, chemotaxonomy.
Soluble Cell Wall Polysaccharides Released from Pea Stems by Centrifugation