Acetic acid bacteria

Acetic acid bacteria

Acetobacter and Gluconobacter are two genera of theα-Proteobacteria that convertethanol into acetic acid, a highly significant reaction in the food and drink industries. Both genera are strict aerobes, but unlike Acetobacter, which can oxidise the acetic acid right through to carbon dioxide and water, Gluconobacter lacks all the enzymes of the TCA cycle, and cannot oxidise it further.

Acetobacter species also have the ability, rare in bacteria, to synthesise cellulose;the cells become surrounded by a mass of extracellular fibrils, forming a pellicle at the surface of an unshaken liquid culture.

Representative genera: Acetobacter, Gluconobacter