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Acetic acid bacteria form a complex microbiota that plays a fundamental role in the industrial production of vinegar through the incomplete oxidation reaction from ethanol to acetic acid. The organoleptic properties and the quality of vinegar are influenced by many factors, especially by the raw material used as acetification substrate, the microbial diversity and the technical methods employed in its production. The metaproteomics has been considered, among the new methods employed for the investigation of microbial communities, since it may provide information about the microbial biodiversity and behaviour by means of a protein content analysis. In this work, alcohol wine vinegar was produced through a submerged culture of acetic acid bacteria using a pilot acetator, operated in a semi-continuous mode, where the main system variables were monitored and the cycle profile throughout the acetification was obtained. Through a first approach, at qualitative level, of a metaproteomic analysis performed at relevant moments of the acetification cycle (end of fast and discontinuous loading phases and just prior to unloading phase), it is aimed to investigate the microbiota existent in alcohol wine vinegar as well as its changes during the cycle; to our knowledge, this is the first metaproteomics report carried out in this way on this system. A total of 1723 proteins from 30 different genera were identified; 1615 out of 1723 proteins (93.73%) belonged to the four most frequent (%) genera: Acetobacter, Gluconacetobacter, Gluconobacter and Komagataeibacter. Around 80% of identified proteins belonged to the species Komagataeibacter europaeus. In addition, GO Term enrichment analysis highlighted the important role of catalytic activity, organic cyclic compound binding, metabolic and biosynthesis processes throughout acetic acid fermentation. These findings provide the first step to obtain an AAB profile at omics level related to the environmental changes produced during the typical semi-continuous cycles used in this process and it would contribute to the optimization of operating conditions and improving the industrial production of vinegar., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The leucine responsive regulatory protein (Lrp) is a global transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes involved in amino acid metabolism. To identify metabolic pathways and related genes under the control of Lrp in the acetic acid bacterium Komagataeibacter europaeus, the Kelrp null mutant (KGMA7110), which requires supplementation of all 20 amino acids for normal growth, was cultivated in minimal media containing or lacking particular amino acids. The results confirmed that KGMA7110 was auxotrophic for methionine and its catabolites S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and spermidine (SPD). Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR analysis revealed lower metK (SAM synthetase) and mdtI (SPD efflux pump) expression in KGMA7110 than in wild-type KGMA0119. By contrast, these genes were significantly up-regulated in the Kelrp mutant lacking the putative C-terminal ligand-sensing domain (KGMA7203), indicating abnormal regulation of target genes by the KeLrp variant in KGMA7203. KGMA7110 (0.69±0.27 μM) and KGMA7203 (4.90±0.61 μM) excreted lower and higher quantities of SPD, respectively, than KGMA0119 (2.28±0.26 μM). This was attributed to imbalanced carbon flow caused by Kelrp disruption that respectively attenuated and stimulated metK and mdtI expression. These findings indicate that KeLrp plays a key role in SAM biosynthesis and intracellular polyamine homeostasis in K. europaeus., (Copyright © 2017 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Multispecies solid-state fermentation (MSSF), a natural fermentation process driven by reproducible microbiota, is an important technique to produce traditional fermented foods. Flavours, skeleton of fermented foods, was mostly produced by microbiota in food ecosystem. However, the association between microbiota and flavours and flavour-producing core microbiota are still poorly understood. Here, acetic acid fermentation (AAF) of Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar was taken as a typical case of MSSF. The structural and functional dynamics of microbiota during AAF process was determined by metagenomics and favour analyses. The dominant bacteria and fungi were identified as Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Aspergillus, and Alternaria, respectively. Total 88 flavours including 2 sugars, 9 organic acids, 18 amino acids, and 59 volatile flavours were detected during AAF process. O2PLS-based correlation analysis between microbiota succession and flavours dynamics showed bacteria made more contribution to flavour formation than fungi. Seven genera including Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Enhydrobacter, Lactococcus, Gluconacetobacer, Bacillus and Staphylococcus were determined as functional core microbiota for production of flavours in Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, based on their dominance and functionality in microbial community. This study provides a perspective for bridging the gap between the phenotype and genotype of ecological system, and advances our understanding of MSSF mechanisms in Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar.

Plasmids pGE1 (2.5 kb), pGE2 (7.2 kb), and pGE3 (5.5 kb) were isolated from Gluconacetobacter europaeus KGMA0119, and sequence analyses revealed they harbored 3, 8, and 4 genes, respectively. Plasmid copy numbers (PCNs) were determined by real-time quantitative PCR at different stages of bacterial growth. When KGMA0119 was cultured in medium containing 0.4% ethanol and 0.5% acetic acid, PCN of pGE1 increased from 7 copies/genome in the logarithmic phase to a maximum of 12 copies/genome at the beginning of the stationary phase, before decreasing to 4 copies/genome in the late stationary phase. PCNs for pGE2 and pGE3 were maintained at 1-3 copies/genome during all phases of growth. Under a higher concentration of ethanol (3.2%) the PCN for pGE1 was slightly lower in all the growth stages, and those of pGE2 and pGE3 were unchanged. In the presence of 1.0% acetic acid, PCNs were higher for pGE1 (10 copies/genome) and pGE3 (6 copies/genome) during the logarithmic phase. Numbers for pGE2 did not change, indicating that pGE1 and pGE3 increase their PCNs in response to acetic acid. Plasmids pBE2 and pBE3 were constructed by ligating linearized pGE2 and pGE3 into pBR322. Both plasmids were replicable in Escherichia coli, Acetobacter pasteurianus and G. europaeus, highlighting their suitability as vectors for acetic acid bacteria., (Copyright © 2014 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Chitosan films reinforced with bacterial cellulose (BC) nanoribbons were studied to understand the influence of acid (acetic and lactic acids) on the reinforcing effect. For both acids, the maximum concentration of the reinforcing constituent was 5wt% with respect to the dry weight of chitosan. The infrared spectra, mechanical properties, morphology and antimicrobial activity of the films were analyzed. The results showed a difference between the acids in their behavior and effect on the reinforcement, with a tensile strength of 12.3MPa for the acetic acid films and 3.3MPa for the lactic acid films. Additionally, the bacterial inhibition tests were shown to be positive for the lactic acid films and negative for the acetic acid films. Therefore, exchanging the acid used in these films may be desirable for certain applications., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Gluconacetobacter europaeus, one of the microorganisms most commonly used for vinegar production, produces the unfavorable flavor compound acetoin. Since acetoin reduction is important for rice vinegar production, a genetic approach was attempted to reduce acetoin produced by G. europaeus KGMA0119 using specific gene knockout without introducing exogenous antibiotic resistance genes. A uracil-auxotrophic mutant with deletion of the orotate phosphoribosyltransferase gene (pyrE) was first isolated by positive selection using 5-fluoroorotic acid. The pyrE disruptant designated KGMA0704 (ΔpyrE) showed 5-fluoroorotic acid resistance. KGMA0704 and the pyrE gene were used for further gene disruption experiments as a host cell and a selectable marker, respectively. Targeted disruption of aldC or als, which encodes α-acetolactate decarboxylase or α-acetolactate synthase, was attempted in KGMA0704. The disruption of these genes was expected to result in a decrease in acetoin levels. A disruption vector harboring the pyrE marker within the targeted gene was constructed for double-crossover recombination. The cells of KGMA0704 were transformed with the exogenous DNA using electroporation, and genotypic analyses of the transformants revealed the unique occurrence of targeted aldC or als gene disruption. The aldC disruptant KGMA4004 and the als disruptant KGMA5315 were cultivated, and the amount of acetoin was monitored. The acetoin level in KGMA4004 culture was significantly reduced to 0.009% (wt/vol) compared with KGMA0119 (0.042% [wt/vol]), whereas that of KGMA5315 was not affected (0.037% [wt/vol]). This indicates that aldC disruption is critical for acetoin reduction. G. europaeus KGMA4004 has clear application potential in the production of rice vinegar with less unfavorable flavor.

Comparison of HaeIII- and HpaII-restriction profiles of PCR-amplified 16S-23S rDNA ITS regions of Gluconacetobacter sp. LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 with restriction profiles of reference strains of acetic acid bacteria described by Trček and Teuber [34] revealed the same but unique restriction profiles for LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109. Further analyses of nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequences, nearly complete 16S-23S rDNA ITS sequences, as well as concatenated partial sequences of the housekeeping genes dnaK, groEL and rpoB, allocated both strains to a single phylogenetic cluster well separated from the other species of the genus Gluconacetobacter. DNA-DNA hybridizations confirmed their novel species identity by 73% DNA-DNA relatedness between both strains, and values below the species level (<70%) between SKU 1109 and the type strains of the closest phylogenetic neighbors. The classification of strains LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 into a single novel species was confirmed also by AFLP and (GTG)(5)-PCR DNA fingerprinting data, as well as by phenotypic data. Strains LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 can be differentiated from their closely related Gluconacetobacter species, Gluconacetobacter entanii and Gluconacetobacter hansenii, by their ability to form 2-keto-d-gluconic acid from d-glucose, their ability to use d-mannitol, d-gluconate and glycerol as carbon source and form acid from d-fructose, and their ability to grow without acetic acid. The major fatty acid of LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 is C(18:1ω7c) (60.2-64.8%). The DNA G+C content of LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 is 62.5 and 63.3mol% respectively. The name Gluconacetobacter maltaceti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LMG 1529(T) (=NBRC 14815(T)=NCIMB 8752(T))., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Strain typing of 103 acetic acid bacteria isolates from vinegars elaborated by the submerged method from ciders, wines and spirit ethanol, was carried on in this study. Two different molecular methods were utilised: pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of total DNA digests with a number of restriction enzymes, and enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC) - PCR analysis. The comparative study of both methods showed that restriction fragment PFGE of SpeI digests of total DNA was a suitable method for strain typing and for determining which strains were present in vinegar fermentations. Results showed that strains of the species Gluconacetobacter europaeus were the most frequent leader strains of fermentations by the submerged method in the studied vinegars, and among them strain R1 was the predominant one. Results showed as well that mixed populations (at least two different strains) occurred in vinegars from cider and wine, whereas unique strains were found in spirit vinegars, which offered the most stressing conditions for bacterial growth., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The population dynamics of acetic acid bacteria in traditional vinegar production was determined in two independent vinegar plants at both the species and strain level. The effect of barrels made of four different woods upon the population dynamics was also determined. Acetic acid bacteria were isolated on solid media and the species were identified by RFLP-PCR of 16S rRNA genes and confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, while strains were typed by ERIC-PCR and (GTG)(5)-rep-PCR. The most widely isolated species was Acetobacter pasteurianus, which accounted for 100% of all the isolates during most of the acetification. Gluconacetobacter europaeus only appeared at any notable level at the end of the process in oak barrels from one vinegar plant. The various A. pasteurianus strains showed a clear succession as the concentration of acetic acid increased. In both vinegar plants the relative dominance of different strains was modified as the concentrations of acetic acid increased, and strain diversity tended to reduce at the end of the process., (Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A number of gram-negative bacteria regulate gene expression in a cell density-dependent manner by quorum sensing via N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). Gluconacetobacter intermedius NCI1051, a gram-negative acetic acid bacterium, produces three different AHLs, N-decanoyl-l-homoserine lactone, N-dodecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, and an N-dodecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone with a single unsaturated bond in its acyl chain, as determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Two genes encoding an AHL synthase and a cognate regulator were cloned from strain NCI1051 and designated ginI and ginR, respectively. Disruption of ginI or ginR abolished AHL production, indicating that NCI1051 contains a single set of quorum-sensing genes. Transcriptional analysis showed that ginI is activated by GinR, which is consistent with the finding that there is an inverted repeat whose nucleotide sequence is similar to the sequence bound by members of the LuxR family at position -45 with respect to the transcriptional start site of ginI. A single gene, designated ginA, located just downstream of ginI is transcribed by read-through from the GinR-inducible ginI promoter. A ginA mutant, as well as the ginI and ginR mutants, grew more rapidly in medium containing 2% (vol/vol) ethanol and accumulated acetic acid at a higher rate with a greater final yield than parental strain NCI1051. In addition, these mutants produced larger amounts of gluconic acid than the parental strain. These data demonstrate that the GinI/GinR quorum-sensing system in G. intermedius controls the expression of ginA, which in turn represses oxidative fermentation, including acetic acid and gluconic acid fermentation.

The strain of acetic acid bacterium, Gluconacetobacter europaeus V3, previously isolated from industrial vinegar-producing bioreactor, tolerates extremely high acetic acid concentrations of up to 10% (v/v). Increased concentration of acetic acid changed the total fatty acid composition of cells by increasing the concentration of a major unsaturated fatty acid, the cis-vaccenic acid. Among the phospholipids, the most significant change was observed for phosphatidylglycerol with 7.3-fold increase and phosphatidylethanolamin with 2.7-fold decrease in the presence of 3% (v/v) of acetic acid. The sizes of cells analyzed with scanning electron microscopy changed from short to long rods in the presence of acetic acid. The cells were covered with spongy layer. The increase of acetic acid concentration from 1 to 2% (v/v) induced the expression of PQQ-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase, but the regulation could not be demonstrated at the transcriptional level. All together, our results suggest that Ga. europaeus activates several adaptive mechanisms to resist the stress of acetic acid.

The optimum fermentation medium for the production of bacterial cellulose (BC) by a newly isolated Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was investigated. The optimized medium composition for cellulose production was determined to be 15 g/L glycerol, 8 g/L yeast extract, 3 g/L K2HPO4, and 3 g/L acetic acid. Under these optimized culture medium, Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 produced 5.63 g/L of BC after 144 h of shaken culture, although 4.59 g/L of BC was produced after 144 h of static culture. The amount of BC produced by Gluconacetobacter sp. RKY5 was more than 2 times in the optimized medium found in this study than in a standard Hestrin and Shramm medium, which was generally used for the cultivation of BC-producing organisms.