Effect of oleic acid on growth and cell structure of mycobacteria.

Schaefer, Werner B. (National Jewish Hospital, Denver, Colo.), and C. Willard Lewis, Jr. Effect of oleic acid on growth and cell structure of mycobacteria. J. Bacteriol. 90:1438-1447. 1965.-The growth-stimulatory effect of fatty acids on Mycobacterium kansasii and other mycobacterial species is associated with transient changes in the morphology of the bacteria. One change observed is the appearance of intracellular vacuoles separated by chromatinic crossbars. Evidence is presented that these changes are due to the rapid metabolic uptake and the accumulation of lipid in the form of globules. This process provides the cells with an internal reservoir of a preferred carbon and energy source. In certain mycobacterial species, including M. kansasii, the morphological changes are elicited by free and by esterified fatty acid; in others, only by free fatty acid. The latter strains apparently lack the enzyme to split the fatty acid ester.