Mycobacterial Lipidomics.

Lipidomics is a distinct subspecialty of metabolomics concerned with hydrophobic molecules that organize into membranes. Most of the lipid classes present in Mycobacterium tuberculosis are found only in Actinobacteria and show extreme structural diversity. This article highlights the conceptual basis and the practical challenges associated with the mass spectrometry-based lipidomic study of M. tuberculosis to solve basic questions about the virulence of this lipid-laden organism.