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Upstream of the gene for flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)-dependent D-sorbitol dehydrogenase (SLDH), sldSLC, a putative transcriptional regulator was found in Gluconobacter frateurii THD32 (NBRC 101656). In this study, the whole sboR gene and the adjacent gene, sboA, were cloned and analyzed, sboR mutation did not affect FAD-SLDH activity in the membrane fractions. The SboA enzyme expressed and purified from an Escherichia coli transformant showed NADPH-dependent L-sorbose reductase (NADPH-SR) activity, and the enzyme was different from the NADPH-SR previously reported for Gluconobacter suboxydans IFO 3291 in molecular size and amino acid sequence. A mutant defective in sboA showed significantly reduced growth on L-sorbose, indicating that the SboA enzyme is required for efficient growth on L-sorbose. The sboR mutant grew on L-sorbose even better than the wild-type strain did, and higher NADPH-SR activity was detected in cytoplasm fractions. Reverse transcription-PCR experiments indicated that sboRA comprises an operon. These data suggest that sboR is involved in the repression of sboA, but not in the induction of sldSLC, on o-sorbitol and that another activator is required for the induction of these genes by D-sorbitol or L-sorbose.

Acetic acid bacteria are obligate aerobes able to oxidize ethanol, sugar alcohols, and sugars into their corresponding acids. Among them, Acetobacter and Gluconacetobacter species have very high ethanol oxidation capacity, leading to accumulation of vast amounts of acetic acid outside the cell. Since these bacteria are able to grow in media with high concentrations of acetic acid, they must possess a specific mechanism such as an efflux pump by which they can resist the toxic effects of acetic acid. In this study, the efflux pump of Acetobacter aceti IFO 3283 was examined using intact cells and membrane vesicles. The accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in intact cells was increased by the addition of a proton uncoupler and/or cyanide, suggesting the presence of an energy-dependent efflux system. To confirm this, right-side-out and inside-out membrane vesicles were prepared from A. aceti IFO 3283, and the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the vesicles was examined. Upon the addition of a respiratory substrate, the accumulation of acetic acid/acetate in the right-side-out vesicles was largely decreased, while its accumulation was very much increased in the inside-out vesicles. These respiration-dependent phenomena observed in both types of membrane vesicles were all sensitive to a proton uncoupler. Acetic acid/acetate uptake in the inside-out membrane vesicles was dependent not on ATP but on the proton motive force. Furthermore, uptake was shown to be rather specific for acetic acid and to be pH dependent, because higher uptake was observed at lower pH. Thus, A. aceti IFO 3283 possesses a proton motive force-dependent efflux pump for acetic acid.

The structure and behavior of inactive alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and the process of physiologically activating inactive ADH in the growing and resting cells of Gluconobacter suboxydans was studied. Active ADH has 10 times more enzyme reactions than inactive ADH. Interconversion between the two forms of ADH was obtained either by changing the pH of the culture medium or by incubating the resting cells in different levels of pH while exposing them to an energy source.

Pseudomonas putida can produce three different types of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) depending on the nature of the alcohol used as its major carbon source. The bacterium produces ADH I when grown on ethanol, ADH IIB when grown on 1-butanol and ADH IIG when grown on 1,2-propanediol. Antibodies against the enzymes could distinguish one from another.