Brytella acorum gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel acetic acid bacterium from sour beverages

Atena Sadat Sombolestani; Dries Bongaerts; Eliza Depoorter; Ilse Cleenwerck; Anneleen D Wieme; Scott J Britton; Stefan Weckx; Luc De Vuyst; Peter Vandamme

doi:10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126440

Brytella acorum gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel acetic acid bacterium from sour beverages

Syst Appl Microbiol. 2023 Sep;46(5):126440. doi: 10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126440. Epub 2023 Jul 4.

Authors

Atena Sadat Sombolestani¹, Dries Bongaerts², Eliza Depoorter¹, Ilse Cleenwerck³, Anneleen D Wieme³, Scott J Britton⁴, Stefan Weckx², Luc De Vuyst², Peter Vandamme⁵

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
² Research Group of Industrial Microbiology and Food Biotechnology, Department of Bioengineering Sciences, Faculty of Sciences and Bioengineering Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
³ BCCM/LMG Bacteria Collection, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Department of Research & Development, Brewery Duvel Moortgat, 2870 Puurs-Sint-Amands, Belgium; International Centre for Brewing and Distilling, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Biophysics, and Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
⁵ Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; BCCM/LMG Bacteria Collection, Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Peter.Vandamme@UGent.be.

PMID: 37429096
DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126440

Abstract

Polyphasic taxonomic and comparative genomic analyses revealed that a series of lambic beer isolates including strain LMG 32668^T and the kombucha isolate LMG 32879 represent a novel species among the acetic acid bacteria, with Acidomonas methanolica as the nearest phylogenomic neighbor with a valid name. Overall genomic relatedness indices and phylogenomic and physiological analyses revealed that this novel species was best classified in a novel genus for which we propose the name Brytella acorum gen. nov., sp. nov., with LMG 32668^T (=CECT 30723^T) as the type strain. The B. acorum genomes encode a complete but modified tricarboxylic acid cycle, and complete pentose phosphate, pyruvate oxidation and gluconeogenesis pathways. The absence of 6-phosphofructokinase which rendered the glycolysis pathway non-functional, and an energy metabolism that included both aerobic respiration and oxidative fermentation are typical metabolic characteristics of acetic acid bacteria. Neither genome encodes nitrogen fixation or nitrate reduction genes, but both genomes encode genes for the biosynthesis of a broad range of amino acids. Antibiotic resistance genes or virulence factors are absent.

Keywords: Acetic acid bacteria; Acetobacteraceae; Brytella; Kombucha; Lambic beer; Sour beverages.