Gluconacetobacter maltaceti sp. nov., a novel vinegar producing acetic acid bacterium.

Comparison of HaeIII- and HpaII-restriction profiles of PCR-amplified 16S-23S rDNA ITS regions of Gluconacetobacter sp. LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 with restriction profiles of reference strains of acetic acid bacteria described by Trček and Teuber [34] revealed the same but unique restriction profiles for LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109. Further analyses of nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequences, nearly complete 16S-23S rDNA ITS sequences, as well as concatenated partial sequences of the housekeeping genes dnaK, groEL and rpoB, allocated both strains to a single phylogenetic cluster well separated from the other species of the genus Gluconacetobacter. DNA-DNA hybridizations confirmed their novel species identity by 73% DNA-DNA relatedness between both strains, and values below the species level (<70%) between SKU 1109 and the type strains of the closest phylogenetic neighbors. The classification of strains LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 into a single novel species was confirmed also by AFLP and (GTG)(5)-PCR DNA fingerprinting data, as well as by phenotypic data. Strains LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 can be differentiated from their closely related Gluconacetobacter species, Gluconacetobacter entanii and Gluconacetobacter hansenii, by their ability to form 2-keto-d-gluconic acid from d-glucose, their ability to use d-mannitol, d-gluconate and glycerol as carbon source and form acid from d-fructose, and their ability to grow without acetic acid. The major fatty acid of LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 is C(18:1ω7c) (60.2-64.8%). The DNA G+C content of LMG 1529(T) and SKU 1109 is 62.5 and 63.3mol% respectively. The name Gluconacetobacter maltaceti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is LMG 1529(T) (=NBRC 14815(T)=NCIMB 8752(T)).