Fig. 2.

Cholesterol utilization requires Mce4 and MceG. (A) The indicated strains were cultured in defined medium containing 0.1% glycerol, 0.01% cholesterol, or no added carbon source. The OD₆₀₀ of each culture over time is plotted on a log scale. H37Rv is the parental strain of all mutants. (B) M. tuberculosis strains were incubated with [4-¹⁴C]cholesterol for the indicated times, and the cell-associated radioactivity remaining after extensive washing was quantified. Curves were fit by linear least squares regression. (C) The indicated strains were incubated with [4-¹⁴C]cholesterol for 4 h, and the relative production of ¹⁴CO₂ is plotted.