Acetic acid bacteria of traditional balsamic vinegar.

Aims: Traditional Balsamic Vinegar has been made by the ageing of cooked grape must into wooden barrels arranged in set of 5-7 casks each of varying capacity. Every year a small amount of vinegar is transferred from a bigger to a smaller barrel and new cooked must is added to the first barrel of the set. In this way the sugary concentration is increased from the biggest to the smallest barrel due to water evaporation across the wood.Methods and results: Different molecular techniques were applied to study acetic acid bacteriain Traditional Balsamic Vinegar. In particular 16S-23S-5S rDNA PCR/RFLP analysis, DGGE and sequencing techniques were performed on both acetic acid bacteria type strains and isolated strains from vinegars.Conclusion: Gluconacetobacter xylinus is the main species of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar and the greatest hurdle to the growth of acetic acid bacteria is high sugar concentration.Significance and impact of the study: The results suggest new technological approach to vinegar production.