Distribution of 2,3-Diaminohexuronic Acid in Strains of Propionibacterium and Other Bacteria

Trichloroacetic acid extracts of 119 strains of bacteria were examined by thin-layer chromatography for the presence of 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxyhexuronic acid. This compound was identified by thin-layer chromatography as material giving a distinctive blue spot with a ninhydrin-collidine reagent and moving to the same position as authentic 2,3-diamino-2,3-dideoxyglucuronic acid. Material of this kind was found in all strains of propionibacteria except Propionibacterium freudenreichii and also in some strains of Clostridium, Actinomyces, and Arachnia. It was not found in representatives of Corynebacterium (11 strains), Bacillus (4 strains), Lactobacillus (11 strains), Staphylococcus (3 strains), Nocardia (3 strains), Streptomyces (1 strain), Ac tinoplanes (1 strain), Erysipelothrix (1 strain), Peptostreptococcus (2 strains), and Arcanobacterium (1 strain), but was present in one of the four strains of Eubacterium examined and in one of two strains of Bifidobacterium. It was not present in whole cells or lipopolysaccharides of seven strains of Bacteroides, but was found in two of five Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains tested.