FATTY-ACID SYNTHESIZING ENZYME-ACTIVITY OF CULTURED MYCOBACTERIUM-LEPRAEMURIUM

Abstract

Comparing the specific activity of enzymes for the biosynthesis of fatty acids in crude extracts of cultivated M. lepraemurium and M. smegmatis showed that: the activity of acetyl CoA carboxylase of the former organism was undetectable and that of de novo fatty acid synthetase was too weak to measure exactly, under the condition used, but both activities of the latter organism were comparable to those already reported by other authors; the activity of acetyl CoA dependent acylCoA elongation system of M. lepraemurium was relatively high and close to that of M. smegmatis; and the activities of acetyl CoA synthetase and acylCoA synthetase of M. lepraemurium were moderately lower than those of M. smegmatis. The relation between this peculiar fatty acid synthesizing enzyme system of M. lepraemurium and its extremely sluggish growth is discussed.