Identification of clinical isolates of selected species of Bacteroides: production of phenylacetic acid.

A total of 132 human clinical isolates were identified and tested for the production of phenylacetic acid. With the exception of B. vulgatus, B. melaninogenicus ss. melaninogenicus, and B. melaninogenicus ss. intermedius, all other species under study produced phenylacetic acid. This property can thus serve as a basis for faster characterization of the strains in clinical laboratories.