Natural fiber exoskeletons of insects and arthropods. In shells and exoskeletons, the chitin fibers contribute to their hierarchical structure. In nature, pure chitin (100% acetylation) does not exist. It instead exists as a copolymer with chitin's deacetylated derivative, chitosan. When the acetylized composition of the copolymer is over 50% acetylated it is chitin. This copolymer of chitin and chitosan is a random or block copolymer. Chitosan is a deacetylated derivative of chitin. When the acetylized composition of the copolymer is below 50% it is chitosan. Chitosan is a semicrystalline “polymer of β-(1-4)-2-amino-2-deoxy-D-glucose”. One difference between chitin and chitosan is that chitosan is
UTP—glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase UTP—glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase UTP—glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase also known as glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase (or UDP–glucose pyrophosphorylase) is an enzyme involved in carbohydrate metabolism. It synthesizes UDP-glucose from glucose-1-phosphate and UTP; i.e., UTP—glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase is an enzyme found in all three domains (bacteria, eukarya, and archaea) as it is a key player in glycogenesis and cell wall synthesis. Its role in sugar metabolism has been studied extensively in plants in order to understand plant growth and increase agricultural production. Recently, human UTP—glucose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase has been studied and crystallized, revealing a different type of regulation than other organisms previously studied. Its significance is derived from the