Synthetic medium for Acetobacter xylinum that can be used for isolation of auxotrophic mutants and study of cellulose biosynthesis

Abstract

Acetobacter xylinum is a bacterium that can synthesize cellulose when grown in an undefined medium containing glucose. We developed a defined minimal medium for A. xylinum that contains 1% glucose, 0.1% NH4Cl, 0.115% citric acid, 0.33% Na2HPO4, 0.01% KCl, 0.025% MgSO4 · 7H2O, and 7.5 mg of nicotinamide per liter which both allows cellulose synthesis and can be used to isolate a variety of auxotrophic mutants.