A

David

Darling

chitin

chitin molecule

Chitin molecule.


Chitin is a structural polysaccharide of an amino sugar found in many fungi and in the exoskeletons of all arthropods. The chitin that occurs in the walls of hyphae – the microscopic tubes of fungi – is composed of a slightly different chitin from that found in exoskeletons.

 

Cellulose, chitin, and starch are the three most abundant organic compounds in nature.