Virulence factors abundance

Specific polyketide hpids present in M. tuberculosis interact with the host and are required for virulence. Mass spectrometric analysis was conducted to monitor this type of lipids [53]. It was discovered that the size and abundance of two lipid virulence factors, phthiocerol dimycocerosate and sulfolipid-1, were controlled by the availability of a common precursor, methyl malonyl CoA. These results suggested that growth of M. tuberculosis on fatty acids during infection led to increased flux of methyl malonyl CoA through lipid biosynthetic pathways, resulting in increased virulence lipid synthesis. 

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