Growth of Mycobacteria on Carbon Monoxide and Methanol

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Abstract
Several mycobacterial strains, such asMycobacterium flavescens,Mycobacterium gastri,Mycobacterium neoaurum,Mycobacterium parafortuitum,Mycobacterium peregrinum,Mycobacterium phlei,Mycobacterium smegmatis,Mycobacterium tuberculosis, andMycobacterium vaccae, were found to grow on carbon monoxide (CO) as the sole source of carbon and energy. These bacteria, except forM. tuberculosis, also utilized methanol as the sole carbon and energy source. A CO dehydrogenase (CO-DH) assay, staining by activity of CO-DH, and Western blot analysis using an antibody raised against CO-DH ofMycobacteriumsp. strain JC1 (formerlyAcinetobactersp. strain JC1 [J. W. Cho, H. S. Yim, and Y. M. Kim, Kor. J. Microbiol.23:1-8, 1985]) revealed that CO-DH is present in extracts of the bacteria prepared from cells grown on CO. Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RubisCO) activity was also detected in extracts prepared from all cells, exceptM. tuberculosis, grown on CO. The mycobacteria grown on methanol, except forM. gastri, which showed hexulose phosphate synthase activity, did not exhibit activities of classic methanol dehydrogenase, hydroxypyruvate reductase, or hexulose phosphate synthase but exhibitedN,N-dimethyl-4-nitrosoaniline-dependent methanol dehydrogenase and RuBisCO activities. Cells grown on methanol were also found to have dihydroxyacetone synthase. Double immunodiffusion revealed that the antigenic sites of CO-DHs, RuBisCOs, and dihydroxyacetone synthases in all mycobacteria tested are identical with those of theMycobacteriumsp. strain JC1 enzymes.