Premium
The metabolism of sugar and malic acid by Leuconostoc oenos : effect of malic acid, pH and aeration conditions
Author(s) -
Firme M. Paula,
Leitão M. Cristina,
Romão M. Vitória San
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1994.tb01613.x
Subject(s) - malic acid , leuconostoc , glycerol , sugar , food science , biochemistry , chemistry , metabolism , aeration , fermentation , citric acid , organic chemistry , lactobacillus
The co‐metabolism of sugars by Leuconostoc oenos was studied under different environmental conditions. Under aerobic conditions, growth and sugar metabolism were poorer than under CO 2 or N 2 atmosphere and acetic acid accumulated to a larger extent. Glycerol was found in the aerobic cultures while erythritol was detected under N 2 or CO 2 . When medium conditions make growth difficult (low pH, aerobic conditions, low nutrients), sugars were only slightly metabolized and growth was very slow while malic acid was rapidly and completely degraded, leading to an increase in the y ATP . Aeration effects on the malic acid degradation rate depended on the nutrients and carbon source in the medium. Malic acid clearly stimulated bacterial growth, allowing an increase in the molar growth yields and ATP production. The results suggest that under adverse conditions cells are not able to grow and malic degradation supplies additional energy production.