Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1988 Mar;170(3):1137–1142. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.3.1137-1142.1988

Effect of growth stage on mycolic acid structure in cell walls of Nocardia asteroides GUH-2.

B L Beaman 1, S E Moring 1, T Ioneda 1
PMCID: PMC210883  PMID: 3277946

Abstract

Mycolic acids were extracted from the cell walls of Nocardia asteroides GUH-2 during different phases of growth at 37 degrees C. These were subjected to structural analysis by combining thin-layer chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography with UV and infrared spectrophotometry and mass spectroscopy of both methyl esters and trimethyl silyl derivatives. By analyzing the fragmentation patterns of these derivatives by three different methods of mass spectroscopy combined with gas-liquid chromatographic separation, the different structural subclasses of mycolic acids were quantitated. Significant qualitative and quantitative modifications of specific mycolic acid subclasses occurred in the cell walls of N. asteroides GUH-2 that were growth stage dependent. The mycolic acids that were predominant in the log phase were polyunsaturated (greater than 2 double bonds per molecule), with long chain lengths and even carbon atom numbers (i.e., C54, C56). In contrast, those that were prominent in the stationary phase were more saturated (few or no double bonds) and of shorter overall carbon chain length (less than or equal to C52). Furthermore, stationary-phase cells had significantly increased amounts of mycolic acids with odd-numbered carbon chain lengths (i.e., C49, C51, C53).

Full text

PDF
1137

Images in this article

1138Image
on p.1138

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Batt R. D., Hodges R., Robertson J. G. Gas chromatography and mass spectrometry of the trimethylsilyl ether methyl ester derivatives of long chain hydroxy acids from Nocardia corallina. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1971 Sep 1;239(3):368–373. doi: 10.1016/0005-2760(71)90028-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beaman B. L. An ultrastructural analysis of Nocardia during experimental infections in mice. Infect Immun. 1973 Nov;8(5):828–840. doi: 10.1128/iai.8.5.828-840.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Beaman B. L., Bourgeois A. L., Moring S. E. Cell wall modification resulting from in vitro induction of L-phase variants of Nocardia asteroides. J Bacteriol. 1981 Nov;148(2):600–609. doi: 10.1128/jb.148.2.600-609.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beaman B. L., Gershwin M. E., Ahmed A., Scates S. M., Deem R. Response of CBA/N x DBA2/F1 mice to Nocardia asteroides. Infect Immun. 1982 Jan;35(1):111–116. doi: 10.1128/iai.35.1.111-116.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Beaman B. L., Gershwin M. E., Maslan S. Infectious agents in immunodeficient murine models: pathogenicity of Nocardia asteroides in congenitally athymic (nude) and hereditarily asplenic (Dh/+) mice. Infect Immun. 1978 May;20(2):381–387. doi: 10.1128/iai.20.2.381-387.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Beaman B. L., Gershwin M. E., Scates S. S., Ohsugi Y. Immunobiology of germfree mice infected with Nocardia asteroides. Infect Immun. 1980 Aug;29(2):733–743. doi: 10.1128/iai.29.2.733-743.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Beaman B. L., Goldstein E., Gershwin M. E., Maslan S., Lippert W. Lung response to congenitally athymic (nude), heterozygous, and Swiss Webster mice to aerogenic and intranasal infection by Nocardia asteroides. Infect Immun. 1978 Dec;22(3):867–877. doi: 10.1128/iai.22.3.867-877.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Beaman B. L. Interaction of Nocardia asteroides at different phases of growth with in vitro-maintained macrophages obtained from the lungs of normal and immunized rabbits. Infect Immun. 1979 Oct;26(1):355–361. doi: 10.1128/iai.26.1.355-361.1979. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Beaman B. L., Maslan S. Effect of cyclophosphamide on experimental Nocardia asteroides infection in mice. Infect Immun. 1977 Jun;16(3):995–1004. doi: 10.1128/iai.16.3.995-1004.1977. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Beaman B. L., Maslan S., Scates S., Rosen J. Effect of route on inoculation on host resistance to Nocardia. Infect Immun. 1980 Apr;28(1):185–189. doi: 10.1128/iai.28.1.185-189.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Beaman B. L., Maslan S. Virulence of Nocardia asteroides during its growth cycle. Infect Immun. 1978 Apr;20(1):290–295. doi: 10.1128/iai.20.1.290-295.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Beaman B. L. Structural and biochemical alterations of Nocardia asteroides cell walls during its growth cycle. J Bacteriol. 1975 Sep;123(3):1235–1253. doi: 10.1128/jb.123.3.1235-1253.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Bordet C., Michel G. Structure et biogenèse des lipides a haut poids moléculaire de Nocardia asteroides. Bull Soc Chim Biol (Paris) 1969 Jul 25;51(3):527–548. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Davis-Scibienski C., Beaman B. L. Interaction of Nocardia asteroides with rabbit alveolar macrophages: effect of growth phase and viability on phagosome-lysosome fusion. Infect Immun. 1980 Jul;29(1):24–29. doi: 10.1128/iai.29.1.24-29.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Deem R. L., Beaman B. L., Gershwin M. E. Adoptive transfer of immunity to Nocardia asteroides in nude mice. Infect Immun. 1982 Dec;38(3):914–920. doi: 10.1128/iai.38.3.914-920.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Lederer E. Cord factor and related trehalose esters. Chem Phys Lipids. 1976 Mar;16(2):91–106. doi: 10.1016/0009-3084(76)90001-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Minnikin D. E., Goodfellow M. Lipid composition in the classification and identification of acid-fast bacteria. Soc Appl Bacteriol Symp Ser. 1980;8:189–256. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Tomiyasu I. Mycolic acid composition and thermally adaptative changes in Nocardia asteroides. J Bacteriol. 1982 Aug;151(2):828–837. doi: 10.1128/jb.151.2.828-837.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Vacheron M. J., Guinand M., Michel G., Ghuysen J. M. Structural investigations on cell walls of Nocardia sp. The wall lipid and peptidoglycan moieties of Nocardia kirovani. Eur J Biochem. 1972 Aug 18;29(1):156–166. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1972.tb01970.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Vistica C. A., Beaman B. L. Pathogenic and virulence characterization of colonial mutants of Nocardia asteroides GUH-2. Can J Microbiol. 1983 Sep;29(9):1126–1135. doi: 10.1139/m83-173. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Yano I., Kageyama K., Ohno Y., Masui M., Kusunose E., Kusunose M., Akimori N. Separation and analysis of molecular species of mycolic acids in Nocardia and related taxa by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Biomed Mass Spectrom. 1978 Jan;5(1):14–24. doi: 10.1002/bms.1200050104. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES