Isoprenoid quinones of Campylobacter cryaerophila, C. cinaedi, C. fennelliae, C. hyointestinalis, C. pylori, and "C. upsaliensis"

Abstract

The isoprenoid quinone contents of Campylobacter cryaerophila, C. cinaedi, C. fennelliae, C. hyointestinalis, C. pylori, and "C. upsaliensis" were determined by reverse-phase thin-layer and high-performance liquid chromatography. All six of these recently named Campylobacter species contained menaquinone-6 (MK-6), but only C. hyointestinalis and "C. upsaliensis" contained 2,[5 or 8]-dimethyl-3-farnesyl-farnesyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (*MK-6), a previously described novel menaquinone of the Campylobacter genus. C. cryaerophila, C. cinaedi, C. fennelliae, and C. pylori contained an unidentified quinone (Un-MK-6) with a molecular weight of 580 and a base peak ion of m/e = 225 by mass spectrometry but with chromatographic properties different from those of MK-6. *MK-6 and Un-MK-6 are important chemotaxonomic markers of Campylobacter and Campylobacter-like organisms.