Acetobacter aceti

Acetobacter aceti is a Gram-negative bacterium that moves using its peritrichous flagella. Louis Pasteur proved it to be the cause of conversion of ethanol to acetic acid in 1864. It is a benign microorganism which is present everywhere in the environment, existing in alcoholic ecological niches which include flowers, fruits, and honey bees, as well as in water and soil. It lives wherever sugar fermentation occurs. It grows best in temperatures that range from 25 to 30 degrees Celsius and in pH that ranges from 5.4 to 6.3. For a long time it has been used in the fermentation industry to produce acetic acid from alcohol. Acetobacter aceti is an obligate aerobe, which means that it requires oxygen to grow.

Acetobacter aceti is economically important because it is used in the production of vinegar by converting the ethanol in wine or cider into acetic acid. The acetic acid created by A. aceti is also used in the manufacturing of acetate rayon, plastics production, rubber production, and photographic chemicals. A. aceti is considered an acidophile, which means it is able to survive in acidic environments, due to having an acidified cytoplasm which makes nearly all proteins in the genome to evolve acid stability. A. aceti has become important in helping to understand the process by which proteins can attain acid stability.