Physiology of Acetobacter spp.: Involvement of molecular chaperones during acetic acid fermentation

Abstract

Acetic acid bacteria produce acetic acid from ethanol to acquire energy through a process called acetic acid fermentation. These bacteria are inevitably exposed to various stressors during fermentation but have developed resistance to these stressors. These resistance properties have been attributed to the combination of several kinds of mechanisms, including the role of molecular chaperones. In this chapter, we outline the involvement of major molecular chaperones (GroESL, DnaKJ, GrpE, and ClpB) in the stress-resistant abilities of Acetobacter pasteurianus NBRC3283, in addition to the role of the regulatory factor RpoH, with reference to our recent studies using proteomic analyses, RNA-seq analyses, and the mutants of these chaperones.