Journal of Dental Research, Vol 62, 1181-1185, Copyright © 1983 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Cellular fatty acid and soluble protein profiles of oral fusobacteria
D. A. Calhoon, W. R. Mayberry and J. Slots
We compared the cellular fatty acid and protein content of 43 strains of
oral fusobacteria isolated from patients with chronic gingivitis, acute
necrotizing ulcerative gingivitis, and juvenile and adult periodontitis, as
well as from the stump-tailed macaque, to that of eight reference strains
of oral and non-oral Fusobacterium species. A gas-liquid chromatographic
examination of trimethylsilyl derivatives of the fatty acid methyl esters
revealed n14:0, 3-OH-14:0, n16:0, 16:1, 3-OH-16:0, n18:0, and 18:1 in each
of the 51 study strains, and a variable occurrence of 14 other fatty acids.
The n16:0 to 3-OH-16:0 ratio distinguished between Fusobacterium nucleatum
and the non-oral species Fusobacterium varium, Fusobacterium necrophorum,
Fusobacterium russii, Fusobacterium necrogenes, Fusobacterium mortiferum,
and Fusobacterium naviforme. The soluble protein content, as determined by
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, varied considerably among the oral
fusobacterial strains studied, and underscored the heterogenous nature of
these organisms. "Fingerprinting" of oral fusobacteria may be readily
accomplished by polypeptide analysis.
