Open AccessIdentification of the sugars involved in mycobacterial cell aggregation
Author(s) -
Anton Véronique,
Rougé Pierre,
Daffé Mamadou
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1996.tb08525.x
Subject(s) - glycan , mannose , mycobacterium smegmatis , arabinose , microbiology and biotechnology , galactose , mycobacterium , biochemistry , bacilli , chemistry , mycobacterium tuberculosis , sugar , cell , cell wall , lectin , biology , bacteria , tuberculosis , glycoprotein , genetics , medicine , pathology , xylose , fermentation
Incubation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and M. smegmatis cells with the sugar components of their surface‐exposed glycans demonstrated that d‐arabinose, but not α‐d‐glucose or d‐mannose, led to the dispersion of the large clumps formed by the bacilli in stationary liquid cultures. These results confirm the presence of arabinose‐containing glycans on the mycobacterial cell surface and demonstrate the implication of selective sugars in cell aggregation, suggesting that the clumping of mycobacterial cells is probably mediated by lectin‐carbohydrate interactions.