Distribution of some mycobacterial waxes based on the phthiocerol family.

Characteristic waxes, based on methoxy and keto long-chain diols, members of the phthiocerol family, have been isolated from representatives of Mycobacterium bovis, M. kansasii, M. marinum, M. microti and M. tuberculosis. M. kansasii produced essentially di-esters of the ketodiol phthiodiolone A, but the remaining species also had waxes based on the methoxy-diols phthiocerol A and phthiocerol B. Gas chromatography of derivatives of the components of the waxes showed that the phthiocerol A components from M. bovis, M. microti and M. microti and M. tuberculosis were qualitatively similar, being mainly C34 and C36, but potentially significant differences were seen in the proportions of the components from M. bovis. The phthiocerols A from M. marinum were C28 and C30 and the phthiodiolones A from M. kansasii were C25 and C27. The multimethyl-branched acids from the waxes of M. bovis were quantitatively different from those of M. microti and M. tuberculosis but all these mycocerosic acids ranged in size from C23 or C24 to C32, with C29 or C30 being the major component in most cases. M. marinum and M. kansasii strains had mainly C26 or C27 and C29 or C30 multimethyl-branched acids, respectively.