A Rapid and Simple Method Using the Detergent Triton X114 for Preparation of Outer Membrane Proteins from Bacteria Containing Mycolic Acids.

A rapid and simple method using the detergent Triton X114 to prepare outer membrane proteins from whole cells of bacteria containing mycolic acids, α-alkyl, β-hydroxyl fatty acids is described. SDS-PAGE analysis and subsequent N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that the proteins prepared from whole cells by this method were almost identical to outer membrane proteins prepared by the conventional cell-disruption and differential-centrifugation method. Therefore, this method is useful to prepare outer membrane proteins from whole cells of Mycolata, bacteria containing mycolic acids.