Differentiation of some gram-negative glucose nonfermenting bacteria using miniaturized carbon sources assimilation tests.

In water and soil the gram-negative nonfermenting bacteria play an important role in the biological mineralization process. To improve the methods for species differentiation of these heterogenous bacterial group, a total of 481 reference strains of gram-negative glucose nonfermenting bacteria belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Alcaligenes, Bordetella, Agrobacterium, Moraxella, Acinetobacter, Flavobacterium and some CDC groups have been investigated for their ability to utilize 42 different carbon substrates with the help of a standardized and automated micromethod. Most species showed a typical pattern of carbon utilization and hence could be differentiated from each other within their genera. As already has been demonstrated by more clinical significant Pseudomonas species, this method proves to be a useful alternative to existing methods of differentiation, especially with representatives of the families Pseudomonadaceae and Alcaligenaceae.