Abstract: | The cellular fatty acids of 35 strains of Mycobacterium kansasii isolated from clinical material were analyzed to establish properties by which we could identify and characterize these acid-fast microorganisms. The fatty acids were extracted from cells grown in liquid synthetic media, and they were analyzed as methyl esters by gas-liquid chromatography. The fatty acid profiles of all strains were similar. They differed from fatty acid profiles of other mycobacteria by their content of a saturated fatty acid with a methyl group at C2. |