Diversity of Acetobacter pasteurianus Strains IsolatedFrom Solid-State Fermentation of Cereal Vinegars

Vinegar production is based on the acetificationprocess by indigenous acetic acid bacteria (AAB). Amongvinegar technologies, solid-state fermentation (SSF) processesare widespread in Asian countries to produce vinegarat small-scale. In this study, 21 AAB strains isolatedfrom Chinese cereal vinegars produced by SSF collected indifferent regions of China were characterized by enterobacterialrepetitive intergenic consensus (ERIC)–PCR fingerprinting.Isolates exhibited high degree of phenotypicvariability as well as suitable traits for their uses as selectedstrains in SSF vinegar production (growth modality bysuperficial biofilm, no production of cellulose, ability togrowth on ethanol media). 16S rRNA gene sequencinganalysis of representative strains showed that strains ofAcetobacter pasteurianus have a close association to cerealvinegars, whereas Gluconacetobacter europaeus populationis not favoured. Selection of single or multiple strainsculture within A. pasteurianus species was predicted inview of their application in SSF technology. This seems tobe the first report showing phenotypic and genetic variabilityof AAB strains involved in SSF processes. Resultscan be exploited for the implementation of large-scale SSFprocesses by selected strains for vinegar production andother innovative biotechnological applications.