Gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of fatty acid methyl esters of Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas sobria, and Aeromonas caviae.

Clinical isolates of Aeromonas hydrophila, A. sobria, and A. caviae whose fatty acid content had been analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) displayed the following qualitatively similar GLC profiles: 12:0, 14:0, 15:0, 16:0, 17:0, 18:0, 16:1, 18:1, a-15:0, a-17:0, and 3-OH 14:0. The 16:0/17:0 area-percentage ratio separated the clinical aeromonads in accordance with their species designations. Aeromonads treated with subminimal inhibitory concentrations of the antibiotic cerulenin displayed the following altered qualitative fatty acid GLC profiles: 12:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 16:1, 18:1, and 3-OH 14:0. Cerulenin-treated cells failed to reproducibly display detectable levels of all odd-numbered-carbon-chain-length fatty acids observed in untreated cells. Cerulenin-treated cells also exhibited overall increases in 14:0 and 3-OH 14:0 and a decrease in total unsaturated fatty acid content.