Lipid bilayer experiments indicated that the cell wall of Mycobacterium tuberculosis contains at least two different porins: (i) a cation-selective, heat-sensitive 0.7-nS channel which has a short-lived open state and is probably composed of 15-kDa subunits and (ii) a 3-nS, >60-kDa channel with a long-lived open state, resembling porins from fast-growing mycobacteria.