The use of PAGE of soluble cellular proteins and gas chromatography of cellular fatty acids was studied to determine the possible use of both methods for rapid identification of anaerobic bacteria. Species of <u>Fusobacterium</u> and <u>Capnocytophaga</u> were analyzed to determine the identification accuracy of each system. The electrophoretic patterns of soluble cellular proteins and the cellular fatty acid patterns determined by gas chromatography were found to remain relatively constant within the species examined. This similarity allowed for the development of automated systems using computer programs to analyze the patterns, and compare them to the patterns of known species. Procedures for gas chromatography of cellular fatty acids were developed by Myron Sasser, University of Delaware, and Microbial Identification Systems (Suite 115 Barksdale Professional Center, Newark, Delaware 19711), in cooperation with Hewlett Packard. From this study it was determined that the accuracy of identification of the PAGE analyses was not high, and therefore this method would have limited use in a clinical laboratory. Gas chromatography of cellular fatty acids had a relatively high accuracy, which is still being improved. / Master of Science