Open AccessLack of correlation between colony morphology and lipooligosaccharide content in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex
Author(s) -
Anne Lemassu,
Veronique Lévy-Frébault,
MarieAntoinette Lanéelle,
Mamadou Daffé
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of general microbiology/journal of general microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2059-9323
pISSN - 0022-1287
DOI - 10.1099/00221287-138-7-1535
Subject(s) - glycolipid , colony morphology , mycobacterium tuberculosis , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , morphology (biology) , strain (injury) , tuberculosis , antigen , trehalose , mycobacterium tuberculosis complex , bacteria , immunology , zoology , biochemistry , medicine , pathology , anatomy , genetics
Rough and smooth colony variants of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were compared with respect to their composition in trehalose-containing glycolipid antigens in view of the results of a recent investigation suggesting that the chemical basis of rough and smooth colony morphology in mycobacteria may reside in the occurrence of lipooligosaccharides. A careful chemical characterization of the individual glycolipids of the selected strains allowed the identification of the major glycolipids. The comparative study of the glycolipid content of the smooth Canetti strain, its spontaneous rough variant, and 16 additional strains of M. tuberculosis, M. bovis and M. africanum showed that the presence of lipooligosaccharides was not related to the morphology of the colonies.