A proteomic and functional view of intrabacterial lipid inclusion biogenesis in mycobacteria

During infection and granuloma formation, pathogenic mycobacteria accumulate triacylglycerol in the form of Intrabacterial Lipid Inclusions (ILI). These organelles facilitate bacterial evasion from the immune system and serve as a carbon source to sustain bacterial persistence within the infected host. M. abscessus, a rapidly-growing non-tuberculous opportunistic pathogen, was previously shown to generate similar structures throughout their infectious cycle. Herein, it was used as a model organism to identify, at a global level, the ILI-associated proteins (IAP) involved in ILI accumulation. By implementing the APEX2 proximity labeling method using an in vitro model for ILI accumulation, we identified 228 proteins potentially implicated in ILI biosynthesis.