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Cellulose production and cellulose synthase gene detection in acetic acid bacteria

  • Applied genetics and molecular biotechnology
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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.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the grant AGL2010-22152-C03-02 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation. M. J. Valera holds the Fellowship AP2009-0843 from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotecnologia Enológica. Dept. Bioquímica i Biotecnologia, Facultat d‘Enologia, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, C/ Marcel.lí Domingo s/n., 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Maria José Valera, Maria Jesús Torija & Albert Mas

  2. Departamento de Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, UPV/EHU, Barrio Sarriena s/n., 48940, Leioa, Spain

    Estibaliz Mateo

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  1. Maria José Valera
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  2. Maria Jesús Torija
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  4. Estibaliz Mateo
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Correspondence to Estibaliz Mateo.

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Valera, M.J., Torija, M.J., Mas, A. et al. Cellulose production and cellulose synthase gene detection in acetic acid bacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99, 1349–1361 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-6198-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-6198-1

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