[Substrate-induced changes in Mycobacterium paraffinicum cells and cell membranes].

The method of spectroscopy of attenuated total reflection (ATR) range was used to study the dynamics of biochemical changes of both the whole cell of Mycobacterium paraffinicum 134 and its outer layer depending on the type of growth substrate. The cells and their outer layers were shown to vary significantly in their composition upon growth in different media. When the cells were cultivated in a medium with glucose, the biosynthesis of structural lipids of the cell wall, viz. glycolipids and mycolic acids, proceeded at a high rate. The quantity of triglycerides produced at the stationary growth phase was also high. When the cells were cultivated in MPB, the content of structural and reserve lipids was very low in both the cell and its outer layer. Therefore, a sufficiently lipophilic cell wall was formed when the cells were grown in the medium with glucose, but it was much less lipophilic when the cells were cultivated in MPB. Consequently, the both types of cells differed in their capacity to absorb a hydrophobic substrate. The paper discusses the role of lipid components in regulating the structure of mycobacterial cell walls depending on a growth substrate.