Acid fastness of tubercle bacilli is attributed to ?
Presence of mycolic acid
Integrity of cell wall
Both of the above
None of the above
Ans. is 'c' i.e., Both of the above Acid fastness has been ascribed variously to the presence in the bacillus of the unsaponifiable wax (mycolic acid) or to a semipermeable membrane around the cell. It is related to the integrity of the cell wall and appears to be a propey of lipid-rich waxy cell wall. Acid fastness is not a propey of lipids alone but depends also on the integrity of the cell wall. - Ananthanarayan