Effect of age on the enzymes of tricarboxylic acid and related cycles in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.

In Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, the activities of all the enzymes of the tricarboxylic acid cycle decreased after 14–21 days of incubation, whereas that of isocitrate lyase increased continuously with age up to 28 days. This indicated that in older cells of M. tuberculosis H37Rv there was increased functional activity of the glyoxylate pathway of the tricarboxylic acid cycle.