[Study of amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism of porcine strains of Haemophilus by thin layer chromatography].

The aim of the present study was to investigate porcine reference and field strains of the species Haemophilus (H.) pleuropneumoniae and H. parasuis, as well as H. Taxon "minor group" and Taxon C on their amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism by thin layer chromatography. The 17 reference strains studied showed almost identical results within the different species and taxa in both, amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism patterns. Based on a few differing enzymatic reactions a reduced species- and taxon-specific reaction pattern could be established, which included L-alanine, L-citrulline and L-threonine of the amino acids as well as D-ribose, alpha-D-xylose, mannitol, trehalose, beta-melibiose and alpha-lactose of the carbohydrates. This differentiation system allowed a reliable identification of 7 field strains whereas 4 additional ones, hitherto pre-classified as H. parasuis, could not be associated with any of the above species and taxa.