The taxonomy of lactic acid bacteria from vacuum-packaged processed meats is problematic,
and atypical members of the leuconostocs and the Lactobacillus sake/curuatus group
are often encountered. In order to resolve this problem the cellular fatty acid (CFA) content
of 61 isolates from vacuum-packaged Vienna sausages and 18 reference strains was determined
by gas chromatography. The relationship between strains was derived by principal
component analysis of data. The CFA profiles were highly reproducible. Although no
relationships could be derived using only one or two differentiating CFAs, plots of the first
two principal components based on only the six most variable CFAs allowed grouping of
strains. The two genera (Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus) could not be clearly separated
when analysed together, but differentiation of species within each of the genera was
achieved when they were analysed independently. Examination of plots for the reference
strains confirmed previously established relationships between these strains. From the plot
of the Lactobacilfus sake/Lactobacillus curuatus component of the study it was found that
most atypical Lactobacillus sake/curoatus strains were closely related to the typical
Lactobacillus sake isolates and reference strain, while the Lactobacillus curvatus strains
formed an independent grouping. A small cluster of atypical strains, however, indicated that
this relationship may not be true for all these strains. Among the leuconostocs only isolates
of Leuconostoc mesenteroides could be clearly differentiated.
Keywords: Cellular fatty acid; Taxonomy; Lactic acid bacteria; L