Isoprenoid quinone and polar lipid composition of Leptospiraceae

Twenty eight strains representing the taxa Leptospira biflexa, Leptospira interrogans and ‘Leptospira (Leptonema) illini’ were examined for their isoprenoid quinone and polar lipid composition. All of the test strains possessed fully unsaturated menaquinones with 7 and/or 8 isoprene units. The major polar lipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol. Minor components included an amino‐containing phospholipid and two polar glycolipids. The implications of these data for the systematics of Leptospiraceae are discussed.