ABSTRACT
This chapter presents chemical analysis and differential extractions, and focuses on the disposition of the polysaccharides. All regions of the yeast cell envelope contain polysaccharides—as more or less fluid components of the plasma membrane, as soluble glycoproteins in the periplasmic space, as the fabric of the cell wall, and as the slime of capsulated species. The peptide content of yeast cell walls, though small, is intimately associated with the polysaccharides, and so are esterified phosphate groups. All regions of the yeast cell envelope contain polysaccharides—as more or less fluid components of the plasma membrane, as soluble glycoproteins in the periplasmic space, as the fabric of the cell wall, and as the slime of capsulated species. In addition to the cell wall, which has a well defined outer boundary, some yeasts produce polysaccharides which may remain in association with the cell as a capsule or slime layer or dissolve in the surrounding medium.
