Increase in Cellulose Production by Sulfaguanidine-resistant Mutants Derived from Acetobacter xylinum subsp. sucrofermentans

Abstract

The relationship between bacterial cellulose production and growth was investigated and the production was found to be associated with growth. Thus, it was expected that enhanced growth would lead to enhanced cellulose production. On the other hand, factors which promote the growth of and cellulose production by Acetobacter xylinum subsp. sucrofermentans BPR2001 were investigated and it was found that addition of p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) has such effects. Therefore, mutants resistant to sulfaguanidine (SG), which is an analog of PABA, were bred from BPR2001. One of the mutants, BPR3001E, showed increased cell growth and had higher productivity, producing 9.7 g/liter of cellulose from 44 g/liter of fructose. The production is 40% higher than that of BPR2001.