chemistry

Ustilagic acid

Ustilagic acid is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ustilagic acid rather than just read about it. In short: Ustilagic acid is an organic compound with the formula C36H64O18. The acid is a cellobiose lipid produced by the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis under conditions of nitrogen starvation.

Key takeaways

Ustilagic acid belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ustilagic acid to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ustilagic acid from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ustilagic acid is an organic compound with the formula C36H64O18. The acid is a cellobiose lipid produced by the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis under conditions of nitrogen starvation. The acid was discovered in 1950 and was proved to be an amphipathic glycolipid with surface active properties. The name comes from Latin ustus which means burnt and refers to the scorched appearance of the smut fungi.

Uses Cellobiose lipids are known as biosurfactants and natural detergents. They can be used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food applications and are known for their strong fungicidal activity on many species. The yeast Pseudozyma fusiformata and Pseudozyma graminicola secrete ustilagic acids, 2-O-3-hydroxyhexanoyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-6-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→16)-2,15,16- trihydroxyhexadecanoic acid. Similar compounds are the extracellular cellobiose lipids of the yeasts Cryptococcus humicola and Trichosporon porosum : 2,3,4-O-triacetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1→4)-6-O-acetyl-beta-D-glucopyranosyl -(1→16)-2,16-dihydroxyhexadecanoic acid. These compounds inhibit the growth of quite a number of various species of yeast and fungi, including Candida albicans and Cryptococcus (Filobasidiella) neoformans. The antifungal activity manifested at acidic pH.

References

External links EVELEIGH, DOUGLAS E. (March 1964). "Fungal Metabolism of Complex Glycosides: Ustilagic Acid" (PDF). The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 239 (3): 839–44. doi:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)51666-5. PMID 14154463. Retrieved 28 November 2016.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ustilagic acid

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ustilagic acid claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ustilagic acid before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ustilagic acid ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ustilagic acid

In research: Ustilagic acid appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ustilagic acid in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ustilagic acid is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Fatty acids, Glycolipids, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ustilagic acid outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ustilagic acid in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ustilagic acid means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ustilagic acid out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ustilagic acid in simple terms?

Ustilagic acid is an organic compound with the formula C36H64O18. The acid is a cellobiose lipid produced by the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis under conditions of nitrogen starvation.

Why does Ustilagic acid matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ustilagic acid?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ustilagic acid.