The Occurrence of Muramic Acid in Wax D Preparations of Mycobacteria

Abstract

SUMMARY: Acid hydrolysates of wax D preparations from human and bovine strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were examined by paper chromatography. The amino acids detected in human wax D preparations were alanine, glutamic acid and meso-α, e-diaminopimelic acid. In general, amino acids were not found in bovine wax D preparations. Muramic acid was found in all wax D preparations from human strains of mycobacteria but was not detected in wax D preparations from bovine strains. The presence of this typical cell-wall component, as well as the foregoing amino acids, suggests a close relationship between wax D and the cell-wall mucocomplex. The role of muramic acid in the structure of wax D of human strains of mycobacteria is discussed.