The use of gas chromatography of fatty acid patterns for the characterisation of Yersinia enterocolitica isolates

The fatty acid composition was determined for 62 isolated of Yersinia enter ocolitica using gas chromatography. Many interspecies differences were dete cted in whole cell fatty acid composition. Biochemical differences between the pathogenic biovar 4 and non-pathogenic biovar 1A were observed in the f atty acid pattern of the strains. Gas chromatography of the extracted lipop olysaccharides revealed that the major differences in the whole cell fatty acid patterns were a result of different fatty acid composition in lipid A. Therefore the whole cell fatty acid patterns and the fatty acid profiles o f the lipopolysaccharides could be of value for the epidemiological charact erisation of Yersinia enterocolitica strains.