A thermotolerant and high acetic acid-producing bacterium Acetobacter sp. I14-2

A thermotolerant bacterium with high production of acetic acid was isolated from spoiled banana in Taiwan. The isolate, I14–2, was considered to be an Acetobacter sp. according to phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics. Optimal cultural conditions for Acetobacter sp. I14–2 to produce acetic acid were studied under cultivation in a medium containing 2 mg l−1 acetic acid and 5% ethanol at 30 °C. Acetic acid productivity by Acetobacter sp. I14–2 was almost two and three times the amount produced by Acet. aceti IFO3283 and Acetobacter sp. CCRC 12326, respectively. The isolate retained 22% residual acetic acid‐producing activity after 3 d incubation in a medium containing 8% ethanol, and produced acetic acid in a medium containing 10 g l−1 acetic acid. This bacterium is thermotolerant and retained 97% and 68% of acetic acid‐producing activity after 3 d incubation at 35 °C and 37 °C, respectively, compared with that when incubated at 30 °C.