Lipid patterns of selected microorganisms as determined by gas-liquid chromatography.

The cellular lipid patterns of seven strains of microorganisms were examined by gas-liquid chromatography in this preliminary study. The chloroform methanol-soluble lipids were extracted by the Soxhlet method from dried cultures which had been grown at 25 +/- 2 C for 18 hr with mechanical shaking. The cellular extract was methylated by use of a low temperature sulfuric acid method, and the resulting methyl esters were chromatographed. Considerable differences in the lipid patterns among the seven microorganisms tested indicated that this method might be useful for the identification of closely related microbial genera, and possibly for species differentiation.