Growing Mycobacterium

[Steven Goldberg]

I am trying to grow Mycobacterium vaccae obtained from ATCC.  This is a
methylotrophic bacterium, so I have tried various minimal and rich media
for Mycobacterium with and without methanol.  So far (after 3 days at 37
deg. C) I only see faint growth.  ATCC recommends using Lowenstein-Jensen
medium, but this calls for a solution of hen's eggs, among other strange
ingredients which I do not possess.  Does anyone have a simpler medium
that I could try for liquid growth?  Since I have a pure culture, I do not
need to differentiate or isolate colonies (which is what the
Lowenstein-Jensen medium was intended to do, as far as I can tell).

Thanks for any assistance.


Steve