title: Effective cellulose production by a coculture of Gluconacetobacter xylinus and Lactobacillus mali.
abstract: A microbial colony that contained a marked amount of cellulose was isolated from vineyard soil. The colony was formed by the associated growth of two bacterial strains: a cellulose-producing acetic acid bacterium (st-60-12) and a lactic acid bacterium (st-20). The 16S rDNA-based taxonomy indicated that st-60-12 belonged to Gluconacetobacter xylinus and st-20 was closely related to Lactobacillus mali. Cocultivation of the two organisms in corn steep liquor/sucrose liquid medium resulted in a threefold higher cellulose yield when compared to the st-60-12 monoculture. A similar enhancement was observed in a coculture with various L. mali strains but not with other Lactobacillus spp. The enhancement of cellulose production was most remarkable when sucrose was supplied as the substrate. L. mali mutants for exocellular polysaccharide (EPS) production were defective in promoting cellulose production, but the addition of EPS to the monoculture of st-60-12 did not affect cellulose productivity. Scanning electron microscopic observation of the coculture revealed frequent association between the st-60-12 and L. mali cells. These results indicate that cell-cell interaction assisted by the EPS-producing L. mali promotes cellulose production in st-60-12.
authors.affiliation: Life Science Research Center, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa 252-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Mayumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsushige
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Yasuyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tonouchi
authors.forename: Takayasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
authors.forename: Fumihiro
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yoshinaga
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Teruhiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Beppu
mesh_terms: D002482:Cellulose / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020459:Genes, rRNA; D041822:Gluconacetobacter xylinus / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D008853:Microscopy; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D010802:Phylogeny; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D013395:Sucrose; D002482:Cellulose