[Gas-liquid chromatography of non-volatile fatty acid produced by "Yersinia enterocolitica" (author's transl)].

The metabolic products (non-volatile fatty acids) of 24 strains belonging to four Yersinia enterocolitica groups (typical, sucrose negative, rhamnose positive, melibiose and rhamnose positive) were examined by gas liquid chromatography. All strains produced lactic, pyruvic and succinic acids. This technique did not allow any classification for taxonomic purpose. The evolution of lactic and succinic acid production was monitored for 72 h in shaked and non-shaked cultures. The concentration of both acids increased in the first 24 h, then decreased and increased again after 38 h. Shaked culture produced a lesser amount of lactic acid than did non-shaked culture. Only traces of succinic acid were detected in shaked culture. The quantities of metabolic products of the four strains grown in five media were significantly different. These observations suggest that the composition of the medium, the bacterial growth, inoculum size, incubation technique and the incubation time are important factors in metabolic production by aeroanerobic bacteria. Only constant results in the face of such varying factors could be of taxonomic value.