Analysis of Chemical Signatures in Moderately Thermophilic Bacteria

The analysis of fatty acids methyl esters as biochemical markers have been used in the identification
of bacteria. A total of 18 out of 44 moderately thermophlic bacteria isolated from water samples of the
Coramandal Coast, Chennai, Tamilnadu, were analyzed for Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME). The
present study showed that the predominant fatty acid was 15:0i followed by 15:0a, which were
characteristic of Bacillus. The results suggest that the order of decreasing abundance of terminally
branched fatty acids is as follows: iso even-numbered acids namely 16:0i, 14:0i, iso odd-numbered
acids, 15:0i, 17:0i, 13:0i, 19:0i and anteiso acids, 15:0a, 17:0a, 11:0a, 19:0a. Straight chain saturated
fatty acids identified were 10:0, 12:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0. The remaining fatty acids components were
present in negligible quantities. The isolates were also identified and classified using the comparison
with the TSBA database as Bacillus cereus-GC subgroup A, B. subtilis, B. laevolacticus,
B. alcalophilus, B. pumilus subgroup A, Staphylococcus schleiferi, S. gallinarum-GC subgroup A,
Kurthiasibirica, Geobacillus stearothermophilus-GC subgroup.