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Fructophilic Characteristics of Fructobacillus spp. may be due to the Absence of an Alcohol/Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase Gene (adhE)

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Abstract

Fructophilic strains of Leuconostoc spp. have recently been reclassified to a new genus, i.e., Fructobacillus. Members of the genus are differentiated from Leuconostoc spp. by their preference for fructose on growth, requirement of an electron acceptor for glucose metabolism, and the inability to produce ethanol from the fermentation of glucose. In the present study, enzyme activities and genes involved in ethanol production were studied, since this is the key pathway for NAD+/NADH cycling in heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria. Fructobacillus spp. has a weak alcohol dehydrogenase activity and has no acetaldehyde dehydrogenase activity, whereas both enzymes are active in Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The bifunctional alcohol/acetaldehyde dehydrogenase gene, adhE, was described in Leuconostoc spp., but not in Fructobacillus spp. These results suggested that, due to the deficiency of the adhE gene, the normal pathway for ethanol production is absent in Fructobacillus spp. This leads to a shortage of NAD+, and the requirement for an electron acceptor in glucose metabolism. Fructophilic characteristics, as observed for Fructobacillus spp., are thus due to the absence of the adhE gene, and a phenotype that most likely evolved as a result of regressive evolution.

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Abbreviations

LAB:

Lactic acid bacteria

FLAB:

Fructophilic lactic acid bacteria

GIT:

Gastrointestinal tracts

ADH:

Alcohol dehydrogenase

ALDH:

Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Dr. S. Deane (University of Stellenbosch) for assistance on the Southern blot hybridization and to Prof. Y. Niimura and Dr. S. Kawasaki (Tokyo University of Agriculture) for valuable advices on determination of enzyme activities. This study was partially supported by the South Africa/Japan Science and Technology Agency Cooperation Programme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Cosmetic Science, Faculty of Bioindustry, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 196 Yasaka, Abashiri, Hokkaido, 099-2493, Japan

    Akihito Endo

  2. Department of Microbiology, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa

    Akihito Endo & Leon Dicks

  3. NODAI Culture Collection Centre, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan

    Naoto Tanaka & Sanae Okada

  4. Department of Applied Biology and Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Bio-Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, 156-8502, Japan

    Yo Oikawa & Sanae Okada

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  1. Akihito Endo
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  2. Naoto Tanaka
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  3. Yo Oikawa
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  4. Sanae Okada
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  5. Leon Dicks
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Correspondence to Akihito Endo.

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Endo, A., Tanaka, N., Oikawa, Y. et al. Fructophilic Characteristics of Fructobacillus spp. may be due to the Absence of an Alcohol/Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase Gene (adhE). Curr Microbiol 68, 531–535 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0506-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0506-3

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