The methanolic tetramethylammonium hydroxide whole-cell lysates of nine species of mycobacteria and the "rhodochrous complex" were examined by gas-liquid chromatography. The gas chromatographic patterns produced 10 characteristic chromatographic groups that corresponded to the 10 species studied. The gas chromatograms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were very easily distinguished from the other mycobacterial strains by high levels of a component that eluted much later than the other components. The remaining nine species could be distinguished on the basis of characteristic components and by different amounts of components common to more than one species. This study demonstrated that direct gas-liquid chromatographic characterization of M. tuberculosis and other myobacterial species was not only feasible but practical in the clinical laboratory.
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