title: Ultrafine cellulose fibers produced by Asaia bogorensis, an acetic acid bacterium.
abstract: The ability to synthesize cellulose by Asaia bogorensis, a member of the acetic acid bacteria, was studied in two substrains, AJ and JCM. Although both strains have identical 16S rDNA sequence, only the AJ strain formed a solid pellicle at the air-liquid interface in static culture medium, and we analyzed this pellicle using a variety of techniques. In the presence of cellulase, glucose and cellobiose were released from the pellicle suggesting that it is made of cellulose. Field emission electron microscopy allowed the visualization of a 3D knitted structure with ultrafine microfibrils (approximately 5-20 nm in width) in cellulose from A. bogorensis compared with the 40-100 nm wide microfibrils observed in cellulose isolated from Gluconacetobacter xylinus, suggesting differences in the mechanism of cellulose biosynthesis or organization of cellulose synthesizing sites in these two related bacterial species. Identifying these differences will lead to a better understanding of cellulose biosynthesis in bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience and Textile Technology, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shinshu University, Nagano 380-8553, Japan.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumagai
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizuno
authors.forename: Naoto
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kouichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nozaki
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Togawa
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamanaka
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Okuda
authors.forename: Inder M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amano
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002482:Cellulose / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D010316:Particle Size; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D002482:Cellulose