Complex formation between mycobacterial polysaccharides and fatty acyl-CoA derivatives

The mycobacterial polysaccharides MMP and MGLP, which contain numerous O-methyl-sugar residues, markedly stimulate fatty acid synthesis catalyzed by a multienzyme complex from Mycobacterium phlei [Ilton, M. et al. (1971) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 68, 87-91]. When aqueous solutions containing MMP or MGLP and palmitoyl-CoA were chromatographed on Sephadex G-75 under conditions that widely separate the individual components, polysaccharide and fatty acyl-CoA were eluted in a single peak, indicating formation of a molecular complex. Similarly, the mycobacterial polysaccharides associate with the CoA derivatives of C(18), C(20), and C(22) acids to yield complexes containing maximally 1 mol of fatty acyl-CoA per mol of polysaccharide. The formation of these novel complexes may result from hydrophobic interactions between the paraffin chains of the acyl-CoA derivatives and O-methyl-sugar residues of the polysaccharides.