Cellulose-producing bacteria

#This invention relates to a microorganism that is capable of producing a cellulosic product (referred to hereinafter as a "cellulose-producing bacterium") and belongs to a novel subspecies which is substantialy negative or very slightly positive in oxidation of acetates and lactates. This invention also relates to novel saccharide analog-resistant strains, amino acid analog-resistant strains and levan sucrase-defective strains.

#Further, this invention relates to a method for the production of cellulosic material (bacterial cellulose: "BC"), which comprises culturing these novel bactria and to bacterial cellulose which may be thus obtained.

#Since BC is edible as well as tasteless and odorless, it is utilized in the food industry. BC's high dispensability in water further provides it with a lot of industrial applications, such as to maintain moisture and viscosity of food, cosmetics or coating agents, to strengthen food materials, to improve stability of food, and to be used as low-calorie additives and an emulsion stabilizer.

#The present invention will be further illustrated with reference to the following examples.

#It is generally known that Acetobacter strains are present in flowers and fruits (Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology (1984) Vol. 1, p. 268). The present starins were isolated from these materials. At first, the starting material was diluted with a stelirized liquid medium mainly consisting of Schramm/Hestrin medium (Biochemical Journal, 58 (1954), pp.345-352): Glucose 20 g/l, Yeast extract 5 g/l, Peptone 5 g/l, Na.sub.2 HPO.sub.4 2.7 g/l, Citric acid. H.sub.2 O 1.2 g/l, Ethanol 2 ml/l, Acetic acid 5 ml/l, Cycloheximide (fungicide) 100 mg/l, pH 5.0. The resluting mixture was inoculated into the same liquid medium and incubated in an accumulated culture, followed by a static culture for seven days at 28.degree. C. The culture broth containing pericles formed was diluted, inoculated onto an agar flat plate containing the above medium plus 20 g/l of agar and incubated for seven days at 28.degree. C., followed by isolation of colonies of the cellulose-producing bacteria. The desired stains were screened from these colonies, and their bacterial properties were identified by a standard method well known in the art. The results are shown in Table 1.

#(1) Jar culture