Enhancing citric acid tolerance of Acetobacter tropicalis using chemical and physical mutagenesis and adaptive evolution to improve the quality of lemon fruit vinegar

Abstract The high concentration of citric acid in lemons limits the production of lemon fruit vinegar because it inhibits the metabolism of acetic acid bacteria and reduces the utilization of raw materials. This study aimed to enhance the citric acid tolerance of Acetobacter tropicalis by using complex mutagenesis and adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) and improving the quality of lemon fruit vinegar. After mutagenesis and ALE, A. tropicalis JY‐135 grew well under 40 g/L citric acid, and it showed high physiological activity and excellent fermentation performance under high concentrations of citric acid. The survival rate and ATP content of JY‐135 were 15.27 and 9.30 times higher than that of the original strain J‐2736. In the fermentation of lemon fruit vinegar, the acid production and the number of aroma‐active compounds were 1.61‐fold and 2.17‐fold than J‐2736. In addition, we found that citric acid tolerance of JY‐135 is related to the respiratory electron‐transport chain and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. This work is of great significance for the production of high‐quality lemon fruit vinegar and the enrichment of seed resources of acetic acid bacteria.