Mushrooms And Crabs Share Chitin

Mushrooms and crabs build important structures from the same base material: chitin, a long-chain polymer found in fungal cell walls and arthropod exoskeletons. Pure, unmodified chitin is pliable, resilient, and tough. Crustaceans combine it with calcium carbonate, creating a composite that is much harder and stiffer than pure chitin but tougher and less brittle than pure calcium carbonate.

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