CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WHOLE-CELL FATTY-ACID PROFILES OF PSEUDOMONAS-CORRUGATA

The fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles of eighty strains of Pseud omonas corrugata from different geographic origins have been studied. Gas chromatographic profiles were obtained. The use of hexane/methyl-t ert butyl ether (MTBE) (1:1) for the extractions improves the yield of hydroxy-FAMEs used to identify P. corrugata as compared to hexane alo ne. The analysis of the extracts with hexane/MTBE showed that many str ains do not have the characteristic FAMEs of P. corrugata (3-hydroxydo decenoic acid, 3-hydroxytetradecanoic acid, 3-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid and two unknown additional fatty acids). These differences among stra ins seemed to be related to bacterial dissociation, associated with ch anges in morphological aspect of the colonies due to subculture. The c omparison of profiles of wrinkled and smooth colonies isolated from te n strains confirmed the differences among those in specific FAMEs. The refore, the FAME profiles are a useful tool for the identification of P. corrugata when the bacteria have not been subcultured in vitro for a long time. Multivariate analyses of data showed that four clusters c an be observed supporting the heterogeneity of the strains of P. corru gata.