Myobacteria are characterized by a trehalose-lipopolysaccharide-containing outer cell membrane. The Azide-functionalized 6-Azido-Trehalose provides an attractive approach for the detection of Myobacteria in living cultures[1]: It is cell-permeable, intracellularly processed and incorporated instead of its natural counterpart.
Myobacteria strains tested[1]:
Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155, Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv, Mycobacterium bovis BCG
[1] Swarts et al. (2012) Probing the Myobacterial Trehalome with Bioorthogonal Chemistry. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 134(39):16123.