Localization and properties of enzymes involved with electron transport activity in mycobacteria.

A study of the subcellular localization of the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH)-3-(4, 3-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) oxido-reductase systems in Mycobacterium was presented. Evidence based on starch gel electrophoresis and different responses of the subcellular fractions to heat inactivation suggested the existence of more than one enzyme responsible for the NADH-MTT oxido-reductase activity. One type of activity was found in the membrane-mesosome fraction which contained labile and electrophoretically non-migrating enzymes. Another type of activity was also detected in the soluble fraction which on starch gel electrophoresis exhibited 4 bands of activity, two of which showed heat resistance.