CHAPTER 



THE ACETIC ACID BACTERIA 



These bacteria, like several other species of microorgan- 

 isms, have been utilized by man since antiquity; wild cul- 

 tures invade cider, for example, to promote the acetic acid fer- 

 mentation, and thus have been responsible for commercial 

 vinegar production. 



Acetobacter suhoxydans, one of the better known mem- 

 bers of this group, was discovered in 1924 by Kluyver and 

 de Leeuw (1). Its discovery did much to broaden the 

 industrial uses for the acetic acid bacteria, for in addition 

 to the vinegar fermentation it carried out several others, 

 mostly one- or two-step oxidations of polyols (2): 



Mannitol — > fructose (1) 



Sorbitol — » sorbose (2) 



Glycerol — > dihydroxyacetone (3) 



Erytheritol -^ erythrulose (4) 



Glucose -^ gluconic acid — ^ ketogluconate (5) 



2,3-Butanediol — ^ acetoin (6) 



1 



