When it comes to lipid diversity, no bacterial genus approaches Mycobacterium. In this issue of Cell Chemical Biology, Burbaud et al. (2016) provide a multi-genic working model for the biosynthesis of trehalose polyphleate (TPP), one of the largest known lipids in mycobacteria. They demonstrate that this lipid is made by diverse mycobacterial species, including those of medical importance.
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