[Arctic pigmented mycobacteria and their role in the oxidation of petroleum hydrocarbons].

Red-orange Mycobacterium species (the rhodochrous group) were isolated from the water of the Arctic regions; they were described, and the structure of lipids and the assimilation of oil products of low temperatures were comparatively studied in the arctic water and soil Mycobacterium species. The composition of usual fatty and mycolic acids was studied in two strains growing in a medium with hexadecane. Palmitic acid prevailed among fatty acids in the both strains; mycolic acids were represented by the compounds C34:0 and C34:1 (Mycobacterium brevicale) and C32:0 and C:34:0 (Mycobacterium sp.

[Lipids of saprophytic bacteria produced during growth on a complex organic substrate].

The composition of lipids and the structure of mycolic acids were studied in Mycobacterium lacticolum var. aliphaticum isolated from soil and grown on MPB. The lipids of all strains were found to contain phosphatidyl inositol mannosides, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, cardiolipin, mycolic and common fatty acids, triglycerides, wax, and several unidentified compounds.

[Action of isoniazid on the growth of saprophytic mycobacteria].

The effect of isoniazide on the ability to assimilate hydrophilic (sugars) and hydrophobic (hydrocarbon) substrates was studied with saprophytic mycobacteria. The minimal concentration of isoniazide inhibiting the growth of saprophytic mycobacteria in a medium containing hexadecane was 150 mcg/ml. If isoniazide was added at a concentration of 900 mcg/ml at the beginning of the logarithmic growth phase, the growth was sharply inhibited and assimilation of the hydrocarbon decelerated 4 times.