Abstract
Cellular fatty acids of 38 strains representing 6 species of genus Pediococcus and of some related bacteria were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography using capillary columns, and correlation between their fatty acid spectra and taxonomy of the genus Pediococcus was examined. Characteristics in fatty acid biosynthetic pathway of each organism inferred from the observed fatty acid compositions were regarded as a good criterion for grouping. Pediococci tested were separated into the following three groups: Group I, P. cerevisiae and P. halophilus (P. soyae); Group II, P. acidilactici and P. pentosaceus; Group III, P. urinae-equi, P. homari, and Aerococcus viridans. Among these groups, fatty acid spectra of the Group III members were significantly different from those of the other groups, especially from the point of fatty acid biosynthesis. This might suggest the phylogenetical unrelatedness of the Group III members to other Pediococci. Culture age and growth media influenced the relative proportions of certain fatty acids, but such a difference did not affect the group separation.
