The Acetic Acid analyser format test kit is suitable for the specific measurement and analysis of acetic acid (acetate) in beverages and food products.

Enhanced activity of ADP glucose pyrophosphorylase and formation of starch induced by Azospirillum brasilense in Chlorella vulgaris.

Choix, F. J., Bashan, Y., Mendoza, A. & de-Bashan, L. E. (2014). Journal of Biotechnology, 177, 22-34. Link to Article Read Abstract ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) regulates starch biosynthesis in higher plants and microalgae. This study measured the effect of the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense on AGPase activity in the freshwater microalga Chlorella vulgaris and formation of starch. This was done by immobilizing both microorganisms in alginate beads, either replete with or deprived of nitrogen or phosphorus and all under heterotrophic conditions, using D-glucose or Na-acetate as the carbon source. AGPase activity during the first 72 h of incubation was higher in C. vulgaris when immobilized with A. brasilense. This happened simultaneously with higher starch accumulation and higher carbon uptake by the microalgae. Either carbon source had similar effects on enzyme activity and starch accumulation. Starvation either by N or P had the same pattern on AGPase activity and starch accumulation. Under replete conditions, the population of C. vulgaris immobilized alone was higher than when immobilized together, but under starvation conditions A. brasilense induced a larger population of C. vulgaris. In summary, adding A. brasilense enhanced AGPase activity, starch formation, and mitigation of stress in C. vulgaris.

Enhanced accumulation of starch and total carbohydrates in alginate-immobilized Chlorella spp. induced by Azospirillum brasilense: II. Heterotrophic conditions.

Choix, F. J., de-Bashan, L. E. & Bashan, Y. (2012). Enzyme and Microbial Technology, 51(5), 300-309. Link to Article Read Abstract The effect of the bacterium Azospirillum brasilense jointly immobilized with Chlorella vulgaris or C. sorokiniana in alginate beads on total carbohydrates and starch was studied under dark and heterotrophic conditions for 144 h in synthetic growth medium supplemented with either D-glucose or Na-acetate as carbon sources. In all treatments, enhanced total carbohydrates and starch content per culture and per cell was obtained after 24 h; only jointly immobilized C. vulgaris growing on D-glucose significantly increased total carbohydrates and starch content after 96 h. Enhanced accumulation of carbohydrate and starch under jointly immobilized conditions was variable with time of sampling and substrate used. Similar results occurred when the microalgae was immobilized alone. In both microalgae growing on either carbon sources, the bacterium promoted accumulation of carbohydrates and starch; when the microalgae were immobilized alone, they used the carbon sources for cell multiplication. In jointly immobilized conditions with Chlorella spp., affinity to carbon source and volumetric productivity and yield were higher than when Chlorella spp. were immobilized alone; however, the growth rate was higher in microalgae immobilized alone. This study demonstrates that under heterotrophic conditions, A. brasilense promotes the accumulation of carbohydrates in two strains Chlorella spp. under certain time–substrate combinations, producing mainly starch. As such, this bacterium is a biological factor that can change the composition of compounds in microalgae in dark, heterotrophic conditions.

Deletion of pyruvate decarboxylase by a new method for efficient markerless gene deletions in Gluconobacter oxydans.

Peters, B., Junker, A., Brauer, K., Mühlthaler, B., Kostner, D., Mientus, M., Liebl, W. & Ehrenreich, A. (2013). Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 97(6), 2521-2530. Link to Article Read Abstract Gluconobacter oxydans, a biotechnologically relevant species which incompletely oxidizes a large variety of carbohydrates, alcohols, and related compounds, contains a gene for pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC). This enzyme is found only in very few species of bacteria where it is normally involved in anaerobic ethanol formation via acetaldehyde. In order to clarify the role of PDC in the strictly oxidative metabolism of acetic acid bacteria, we developed a markerless in-frame deletion system for strain G. oxydans 621H which uses 5-fluorouracil together with a plasmid-encoded uracil phosphoribosyltransferase as counter selection method and used this technique to delete the PDC gene (GOX1081) of G. oxydans 621H. The PDC deletion mutant accumulated large amounts of pyruvate but almost no acetate during growth on D-mannitol, D-fructose or in the presence of L-lactate. This suggested that in G. oxydans acetate formation occurs by decarboxylation of pyruvate and subsequent oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetate. This observation and the efficiency of the markerless deletion system were confirmed by constructing deletion mutants of two acetaldehyde dehydrogenases (GOX1122 and GOX2018) and of the acetyl-CoA-synthetase (GOX0412). Acetate formation during growth of these mutants on mannitol did not differ significantly from the wild-type strain.

Biochemical characterization and relative expression levels of multiple carbohydrate esterases of the xylanolytic rumen bacterium Prevotella ruminicola 23 grown on an ester-enriched substrate.

Kabel, M. A., Yeoman, C. J., Han, Y., Dodd, D., Abbas, C. A., de Bont, J. A. M., Morrison, M., Cann I. K. O. & Mackie, R. I. (2011). Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 77(16), 5671-5681. Link to Article Read Abstract We measured expression and used biochemical characterization of multiple carbohydrate esterases by the xylanolytic rumen bacterium Prevotella ruminicola 23 grown on an ester-enriched substrate to gain insight into the carbohydrate esterase activities of this hemicellulolytic rumen bacterium. The P. ruminicola 23 genome contains 16 genes predicted to encode carbohydrate esterase activity, and based on microarray data, four of these were upregulated >2-fold at the transcriptional level during growth on an ester-enriched oligosaccharide (XOS_FA,AC) from corn relative to a nonesterified fraction of corn oligosaccharides (AXOS). Four of the 16 esterases (Xyn10D-Fae1A, Axe1-6A, AxeA1, and Axe7A), including the two most highly induced esterases (Xyn10D-Fae1A and Axe1-6A), were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and biochemically characterized. All four enzymes showed the highest activity at physiologically relevant pH (6 to 7) and temperature (30 to 40°C) ranges. The P. ruminicola 23 Xyn10D-Fae1A (a carbohydrate esterase [CE] family 1 enzyme) released ferulic acid from methylferulate, wheat bran, corn fiber, and XOS_FA,AC, a corn fiber-derived substrate enriched in O-acetyl and ferulic acid esters, but exhibited negligible activity on sugar acetates. As expected, the P. ruminicola Axe1-6A enzyme, which was predicted to possess two distinct esterase family domains (CE1 and CE6), released ferulic acid from the same substrates as Xyn10D-Fae1 and was also able to cleave O-acetyl ester bonds from various acetylated oligosaccharides (AcXOS). The P. ruminicola 23 AxeA1, which is not assigned to a CE family, and Axe7A (CE7) were found to be acetyl esterases that had activity toward a broad range of mostly nonpolymeric acetylated substrates along with AcXOS. All enzymes were inhibited by the proximal location of other side groups like 4-O-methylglucuronic acid, ferulic acid, or acetyl groups. The unique diversity of carbohydrate esterases in P. ruminicola 23 likely gives it the ability to hydrolyze substituents on the xylan backbone and enhances its capacity to efficiently degrade hemicellulose.

Co-fermentation of acetate and sugars facilitating microbial lipid production on acetate-rich biomass hydrolysates.

Gong, Z., Zhou, W., Shen, H., Yang, Z., Wang, G., Zuo, Z., Hou. Y. & Zhao, Z. K. (2016). Bioresource technology, 207, 102-108. Link to Article Read Abstract The process of lignocellulosic biomass routinely produces a stream that contains sugars plus various amounts of acetic acid. As acetate is known to inhibit the culture of microorganisms including oleaginous yeasts, little attention has been paid to explore lipid production on mixtures of acetate and sugars. Here we demonstrated that the yeast Cryptococcus curvatus can effectively co-ferment acetate and sugars for lipid production. When mixtures of acetate and glucose were applied, C. curvatus consumed both substrates simultaneously. Similar phenomena were also observed for acetate and xylose mixtures, as well as acetate-rich corn stover hydrolysates. More interestingly, the replacement of sugar with equal amount of acetate as carbon source afforded higher lipid titre and lipid content. The lipid products had fatty acid compositional profiles similar to those of cocoa butter, suggesting their potential for high value-added fats and biodiesel production. This co-fermentation strategy should facilitate lipid production technology from lignocelluloses.

Interaction of Azospirillum spp. with microalgae: a basic eukaryotic-prokaryotic model and its biotechnological applications.

de-Bashan, L. E., Hernandez, J. P. & Bashan, Y. (2015). \"Handbook for Azospirillum”, Springer International Publishing, 367-388. Link to Article Read Abstract The interaction of the bacteria Azospirillum spp. with photosynthetic, single cell microalgae that are co-immobilized in alginate beads provides a significant shortcut for understanding the interaction of this plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) with plants in general. This interaction is currently relevant for studying physiological, physical, biochemical, and molecular aspects. As an independent subfield of Azospirillum research, this interaction has some significant potential biotechnological applications, such as wastewater treatment, production of biofuel (ethanol and biodiesel), increased fertility of eroded soils combined with promoting growth of higher plants, production of pigments, and production of biomass. All of these applications have yet to be scaled up and evaluated for their true practical potential.

Analyser format UV-method for the determination of Acetic Acid in foodstuffs, beverages and other materialsPrinciple: (acetyl-CoA synthetase)(1) Acetic acid + ATP + CoA → acetyl-CoA + AMP +pyrophosphate (citrate synthase)(2) Acetyl-CoA + oxaloacetate + H₂O → citrate + CoA (L-malate dehydrogenase)(3) L-Malate + NAD⁺ ↔ oxaloacetate + NADH + H⁺

Kit size: 141.6 mL of prepared reagent (R1 + R2) Method: Spectrophotometric at 340 nmReaction time: ~ 15 minDetection limit: 10 mg/L (recommended assay format)Application examples: Wine, beer, fruit and fruit juices, soft drinks, vinegar, vegetables, pickles, dairy products (e.g. cheese), meat, fish, bread, bakery products (and baking agents), ketchup, soy sauce, mayonnaise, dressings, paper (and cardboard), tea, pharmaceuticals (e.g. infusion solutions), feed and other materials (e.g. biological cultures, samples, etc.) Method recognition: Methods based on this principle have been accepted by EN, ISO, ICUMSA, IFU and MEBAK

Advantages

• No wasted ACS solution (stable suspension supplied)
• PVP incorporated to prevent tannin inhibition
• Very stable reagent when prepared for auto-analyser applications (> 3 days at 4°C)
• Linear calibration up to 30 μg/mL of acetic acid in final reaction solution
• Validated by the University of Wine, Suze la Rousse, France
• Very competitive price (cost per mL of reagent)
• All reagents stable for > 2 years after preparation