01801nas a2200301   4500000000100000008004100001260000900042653002400051653001600075653002900091653001400120653001100134653001200145653001800157653002400175653002400199653002500223653003100248653002400279653001800303100001300321700001200334245007500346300001100421490000700432520104600439022001401485       1983                            d  c198310aChromatography, Gas10aFatty Acids10aFatty Acids, Unsaturated10aGranuloma10aHumans10aleprosy10aMycobacterium10aMycobacterium avium10aMycobacterium bovis10aMycobacterium leprae10aMycobacterium lepraemurium10aSpecies Specificity10aStearic Acids1 aKUSAKA T1 aIzumi S00aGaschromatography of constitutive fatty acids in Mycobacterium leprae.  a409-140 v273 a<p>A constitutive saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid pattern of Mycobacterium leprae, isolated from the liver of a nine-banded armadillo with experimental leprosy, was analyzed gaschromatographically and compared with that of cultured M. lepraemurium, M. avium, M. bovis, strain BCG and M. smegmatis. In comparing the fatty acid pattern thus obtained and the known structure of mycolic acids in these mycobacteria, an experiential rule that each species of mycobacteria has a relatively high content of normal (straight-chained) saturated fatty acid having two more carbons than those of the alpha-branch in this species' mycolic acids, coincided well for all mycobacteria tested. In particular, M. leprae was found to contain a relatively high content of behenic acid (n-C22:0) and the carbon-number of the alpha-branch in this species' mycolic acids is 20 as we previously reported. These data suggested the possibility of simple detection of M. leprae by gaschromatography, and results sustaining this possibility were obtained.</p>  a0385-5600