Figure 2.

Lactate and pyruvate are superior carbon sources compared to glucose and fatty acids for Mtb. Growth of Mtb at different concentration of lactate, pyruvate, glucose (A and B) and fatty acids (C–F) as principal carbon sources. 0.4% of glucose (22.2 mM), lactate (44.4 mM) and pyruvate (45.2 mM) produce a similar number of acetyl‐CoA units. 0.16% oleate (5 mM) produces a similar number of acetyl‐CoA units of 0.4% lactate and pyruvate. The number of carbons increases from butyrate (C₄), valerate (C₅) to oleate (C₁₈). The charts show the average and standard deviation from three independent experiments.