[Identification of Legionella by gas phase chromatography of fatty acids and high performance liquid chromatography of ubiquinones].

The fatty acids and ubiquinones of 44 reference strains corresponding to species of Legionella and 3 strains of Legionella isolated in the environment have been evaluated. The analysis of fatty acids profiles allows a classification of 22 species into 4 groups depending on the predominance of some branched-chain fatty acids of linear fatty acids. As for ubiquinones our results for the 22 species corroborate the classification in 5 groups established by Moss in 1983 based on the study of 10 species of Legionella. The analysis of fatty acids composition combined with ubiquinones content has allowed us to identify the antigenically similar strains which cannot be differentiated by direct immunofluorescence on one hand (strain 1) and on the other a more precise approach to the identification, before DNA-ADN hybridization of strains of new species (strains 2).