Only a few cobalamin-producing bacterial species are known which are suitable for food fermentations. The strain of Acetobacter pasteurianus DSM 3509 was found to have the capability to synthesize cobalamin. A survival test and a preliminary genetic study of the gene of uroporphyrinogen-III synthase indicated the ability to synthesize cobalamin. By a modified microbiological assay based on Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. lactis DSM 20355, 4.57 ng/mL of cyanocorrinoids and 0.75 ng/mL of noncorrinoid growth factors were detected. The product extracted and isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography in its cyanide form had the similar UV spectrum as standard cyanocobalamin and Coα-[α-(7-adenyl)]-(Coβ-cyano) cobamide also known as pseudovitamin B12 produced by Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 20016. The chromatographically separated product of A. pasteurianus was subjected to mass spectrometrical analysis. There, its fragmentation pattern turned out to be equivalent to that of cyanocobalamin also produced by Propionibacterium freudenreichii ssp. freudenreichii DSM 20271 and clearly differs from pseudovitamin B12. Due to the presence of this species in several food applications, there might be cobalamin residues in food fermented with these bacteria.
Keywords: Acetobacteraceae; Immunoaffinity chromatography; Pseudovitamin B12; Vitamin B12.