Calcofluor-white Calcofluor-white Calcofluor-white is a special fluorescent stain that binds strongly to structures containing cellulose and chitin. In plant cell biology research, it is used for the staining of cell walls of both algae and higher plants. It is also useful in medicine and animal biology for the identification of fungi in the tissue, (it binds to the chitin in the cell walls of the fungi). In research, calcofluor-white is also used to stain bud scars of yeast cells because the bud scars have a higher content of chitin, which stains them more than the rest of the cell membrane. Due
Cellulose synthase (UDP-forming) Cellulose synthase (UDP-forming) In enzymology, a cellulose synthase (, "UDP-glucose:(1→4)-β--glucan 4-β--glucosyltransferase") is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are UDP-glucose and [(1→4)-β--glucosyl], whereas its two products are UDP and [(1→4)-β--glucosyl]. This enzyme is involved in the synthesis of cellulose. A similar enzyme utilizes GDP-glucose, cellulose synthase (GDP-forming) (EC 2.4.1.29). Cellulose is an aggregation of unbranched polymer chains made of β-(1→4)-linked glucose residues that makes up a large portion of primary and secondary cell walls. Although important for plants, it is also synthesized by most algae, some bacteria, and some animals. Worldwide, 2