Cellulose production and cellulose synthase gene detection in acetic acid bacteria

Abstract

The ability of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) to produce cellulose has gained much industrial interest due to the physical and chemical characteristics of bacterial cellulose. The production of cellulose occurs in the presence of oxygen and in a glucose-containing medium, but it can also occur during vinegar elaboration by the traditional method. The vinegar biofilm produced by AAB on the air-liquid interface is primarily composed of cellulose and maintains the cells in close contact with oxygen. In this study, we screened for the ability of AAB to produce cellulose using different carbon sources in the presence or absence of ethanol. The presence of cellulose in biofilms was confirmed using the fluorochrome Calcofluor by microscopy. Moreover, the process of biofilm formation was monitored under epifluorescence microscopy using the Live/Dead BacLight Kit. A total of 77 AAB strains belonging to 35 species of Acetobacter, Komagataeibacter, Gluconacetobacter, and Gluconobacter were analysed, and 30 strains were able to produce a cellulose biofilm in at least one condition. This cellulose production was correlated with the PCR amplification of the bcsA gene that encodes cellulose synthase. A total of eight degenerated primers were designed, resulting in one primer pair that was able to detect the presence of this gene in 27 AAB strains, 26 of which formed cellulose.

Comparative genomics of the Komagataeibacter strains—Efficient bionanocellulose producers

“…The species of Komagataeibacter have been shown to be the exceptionally efficient cellulose producers among bacterial species (Jedrzejczak‐Krzepkowska, Kubiak, Ludwicka, & Bielecki, ; Lin et al., ; Valera, Torija, Mas, & Mateo, ; Valera, Poehlein, et al., ). Ultrapure bionanocellulose (BNC) is finding applications in biotechnology, medicine, and various industry sectors.…”

Physicochemical characterization of high-quality bacterial cellulose produced by Komagataeibacter sp. strain W1 and identification of the associated genes in bacterial cellulose production

“…11 Studies have shown that Gluconacetobacter is the most-well known genus due to its highest BC production ability among the reported BCproducers, 1,7 while Komagataeibacter contributes mostly to the rapid pH decrease and BC production during vinegar fermentation. 12,13 Although more than 14 species of Komagataeibacter have been regrouped from Gluconacetobacter, 14,15 their BC production characteristics warrant further investigations. For example, most studied BC-encoding genes are bcsA, bcsB, bcsC and bcsD, but the functions of other genes such as bcsX and bcsY are little known.…”

Physiology of Acetic Acid Bacteria and Their Role in Vinegar and Fermented Beverages

“…In addition, in natural environments such as rotting fruit, cellulose production may protect the bacteria from predation or from the damaging effects of UV light or dissection through moisture loss. Cellulose production appears to be variable in G. oxydans, with some strains capable of producing it having been identified previously (Jia et al, 2004;Valera, Torija, Mas, & Mateo, 2015). In a screening of 77 different AAB strains, representing 35 different species, Valera et al (2015) found that of the three G. oxydans strains examined, two produced cellulose on all the six different media used to investigate its production.…”

“…Cellulose production appears to be variable in G. oxydans, with some strains capable of producing it having been identified previously (Jia et al, 2004;Valera, Torija, Mas, & Mateo, 2015). In a screening of 77 different AAB strains, representing 35 different species, Valera et al (2015) found that of the three G. oxydans strains examined, two produced cellulose on all the six different media used to investigate its production. Both of these strains were isolates from beer (Valera et al, 2015).…”

“…In a screening of 77 different AAB strains, representing 35 different species, Valera et al (2015) found that of the three G. oxydans strains examined, two produced cellulose on all the six different media used to investigate its production. Both of these strains were isolates from beer (Valera et al, 2015). However, yields of cellulose from G. oxydans are much lower than those of Acetobacter xylinum (presently K. xylinus) (Jia et al, 2004).…”