Microorganisms such as fungi are widely cultivated as alternative food sources to produce mycoprotein.
Name the storage polysaccharide found in fungal cells.
Name the nitrogen-containing structural polysaccharide that is the main component of fungal cell walls.
A newly engineered strain of mycoprotein contains high levels of chitin (which acts as dietary fibre) and low levels of simple hexose sugars. Suggest the benefits of each of these features to a human diet.
The production rate of mycoprotein can be increased by genetically modifying the fungi to be resistant to viral infections. Explain how enzymes are used in the process of genetically modifying these fungi.
