Characterization of Clostridia by Gas Chromatography: Differentiation of Species by Trimethylsilyl Derivatives of Whole-Cell Hydrolysates

Abstract

Trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives prepared from whole-cell hydrolysates of 36 strains, representing 10 species of Clostridium were examined by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The TMS profile of each species contained a group of peaks which characterized the species. Variation among strains within a species was much lower than variation between species. Some of the closely related clostridia could be differentiated by comparing their TMS profiles. Strains of Clcstridium botulinum were distinguished from C. sporogenes on the basis of the ratio of two GLC peaks which corresponded to arabinose and glucose. A peak with a retention time identical to that of mannose was present in all C. bifermentans strains but was absent in those of C. sordellii. The genus Clostridium is composed of a very heterogeneous group of organisms which are gram-positive, anaerobic, catalase-negative, spore-forming rods. Some species of this genus fix atmospheric nitrogen, some are thermophilic, and others are pathogenic for man and animals. Various approaches have been used to study this diverse group of bacteria. Biochemical tests 55 C under a gentle stream of nitrogen. The residue was dissolved in 10 ml of hexane, and the volume was reduced to 0.25 ml under nitrogen. Reference sugar samples obtained from Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo., were processed by the same procedure. 78

Electrophoretic study of Clostridium species

“…11, lanes 8 through 13) and absent in the toxic strains. Farshy and Moss (8) reported that C. sporogenes and proteolytic strains of C. botulinum also can be differentiated by gas chromatographic patterns of trimethylsilyl derivatives of whole cell hydrolysates. Because type G (Fig.…”

Characterization and identification of 95 diphtheroid (group JK) cultures isolated from clinical specimens

“…Moreover, the gas-liquid chromatographic profiles of whole-cell hydrolysates were nearly identical. Intraspecies similarities in derivative patterns have been shown to be characteristic of some bacterial species (2,8,9,22).…”

New Gas Chromatographic Characterization Procedure: Preliminary Studies on Some Pseudomonas Species

“…The three other approaches involve a chromatographic characterization of structural components. They use either derivatives of extracted cellular components (1,7,21,22), derivatives of whole cell hydrolysates (8,9,12,13), or the separation of pyrolytically induced molecular fragments (5,18). The gas chromatograph can make the characterization of a variety of microorganisms both rapid and simple.…”