抄録
A number of bacterial strains from type culture collections and natural sources were examined in their metabolic characteristics toward sorbitol and L-sorbose.
Paper chromatographic analyses of sorbitol and L-sorbose metabolites obtained from the cultures of various bacteria revealed that the organisms producing 2-keto-L-gulonic acid from sorbitol were merely found in the genera Acetobacter, Gluconobacter and Pseudomonas, whereas those producing the acid from L-sorbose were distributed in the twelve genera of bacteria: Acetobacter, Alcaligenes, Aerobacter, Azotobacter, Bacillus, Escherichia, Gluconobacter, Klebsiella, Micrococcus, Pseudomonas, Serratia and Xanthomonas. G. melanogenus, which was characterized by excellent production of 2- keto-L-gu Ionic acid from sorbitol, also formed several other sugars and sugar acids as the sorbitol metabolites. These compounds were identified to be D-fructose, L-sorbose, D-mannonic acid, L-idonic acid, 2-keto-D-gluconic acid and 5-keto-D-mannonic acid, respectively, by means of two-dimensional paper chromatography.
Bacteria producing 2-keto-L-gulonic acid from sorbitol were usually isolated from fruits but not from soil.
