The importance of TCA cycle related acids in bacterial cellulose production

We previously reported that the cellulose production by Acetobacter xylinum ATCC 10245 is greatly increased by the addition of lignosulfonate into the standard cultivation medium. This effect was shown to occur with various sources and bacterium strains. But the mechanism of the yield increase is not clear. In this report we examined the relationship between final pH of the media and the yield of cellulose with various types and concentrations of buffer to clarify the role of buffer components and the lignosulfonate on the bacterial cellulose production. The results showed that the intermediate acids, citric acid and succinic acid, in the TCA cycle presumably relating to the dissimilation system of cellulose played an important role on the cellulose synthesis, and the lignosulfonate strongly related to these reactions. Therefore, the role of cellulose dissimilation system in the cellulose synthesis should be further investigated.