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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 1999, p. 2248-2254, Vol. 37, No. 7
Departamento de Bioquímica,
Received 27 October 1998/Returned for modification 25 January
1999/Accepted 16 April 1999
Numerical analysis of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles of
199 isolates and 76 reference strains, belonging to all validly described species of the genus Legionella that can be
cultured in laboratory media, was used to differentiate between the
species of this genus. With the exception of the strains that
autofluoresced red, it was possible to differentiate all the other
Legionella species. The strains of the species
L. bozemanii, L. dumoffii, L. feeleii, L. gormanii,
L. maceachernii, L. micdadei, and
L. quinlivanii did not form single clusters, showing
some degree of variability in the fatty acid compositions. The strains
of the blue-white autofluorescent species had very similar fatty acid
compositions and were difficult to distinguish from each other. Nine
isolates had fatty acid profiles unlike those of any of the validly
described species and may represent different FAME groups of known
species or undescribed Legionella species. The method used
in this study was useful for screening and discriminating large number
of isolates of Legionella species. Moreover, the results
obtained can be included in a database of fatty acid profiles, leading
to a more accurate automatic identification of Legionella isolates.
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Usefulness of Fatty Acid Composition for
Differentiation of Legionella Species
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de
Zoologia, Universidade de Coimbra, 3004-517 Coimbra, Portugal. Phone: 351-39-824024. Fax: 351-39-826798. E-mail:
averissimo{at}iav.uc.pt.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 1999, p. 2248-2254, Vol. 37, No. 7
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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