Fatty acids ofSerratia determined by gas chromatography

The fatty acids in whole-cell methanolysates of 19Serratia strains were identified and quantitated by gas liquid chromatography. The major fatty acid components were 3-OH-C14∶0, C16∶0, C16∶1, and C18∶1+2. They contributed 50–80% of the components in each strain. Significant quantities were also contributed by C14∶0. The other components tended to contribute less than 3% each. Principal component analysis of the fatty acid composition data yielded a three-dimensional ordination of strains that roughly reflected the present taxonomic knowledge on the genusSerratia.