The 16-kDa alpha-crystallin-like protein of Mycobacterium bovis BCG is produced under conditions of oxygen deficiency and is associated with ribosomes.

A 16-kDa protein, identical to the alpha-crystallin-like stress protein, was induced under O2-deficient culture conditions and bound principally to the 30S ribosomal subunits of Mycobacterium bovis BCG substrain Tokyo (BCG). The 16-kDa protein was shown to be tightly associated with the ribosome.