Biology as Poetry: Micro Techniques

Bacteriophage Ecology Group

Fatty Acid Profile

Means of bacterial identification based on membrane composition.

Fatty acids are key constituents of phospholipids which, in turn, are key constituents of lipid bilayers and hence membranes.

It is differences in fatty acid composition between species that allows fatty acid profiles to be employed as a means of bacterial identification. Indeed, this is a technology that has been partially automated for use in medical microbiology laboratories.

For more on this topic, see Wikipedia  and Google.  Contact web master.  Return to home.