Cellular fatty acid and soluble protein composition of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and related organisms.

The cellular fatty acid and protein content of twenty-five representative strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetecomitans isolated from juvenile and adult periodontitis patients was compared to that of 15 reference strains of oral and nonoral Actinobacillus species and Haemophilus aphrophilus. Trimethylsilyl derivatives of the fatty acid methyl esters were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The predominant fatty acids of all 40 strains examined were 14:0, 3-OH 14:0, 16 delta, and 16:0. Actinobacillus seminis (ATCC 15768) was unlike the other strains examined because of a greater amount of 14:0 detected. The soluble protein analysis using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that A. actinomycetemcomitans, H. aphrophilus, and nonoral Actinobacillus species possessed distinct protein profiles attesting to the validity of separating these organisms into different species. Established biotypes of A. actinomycetemcomitans could not be differentiated on the basis of fatty acid or protein profiles.