ENZYMATIC STUDIES ON OXIDATION OF SUGAR AND SUGAR ALCOHOL .V. UBIQUINONE OF ACETIC ACID BACTERIA AND ITS RELATION TO CLASSIFICATION OF GENERA GLUCONOBACTER AND ACETOBACTER, ESPECIALLY OF SO-CALLED INTERMEDIATE STRAINS

From the intact cells of 66 strains of acetic acid bacteria, ubiquinones were extracted with ether-ethanol mixture (3:1) and purified by treatment with acetone, followed by thin-layer chromatography using silica gel plates and benzene. Mass spectrometric and paper chromatographic analyses of the ubiquinone system showed the characteristic existence of ubiquinone-10 in genus Gluconobacter and ubiquinone-10 and -9 in “peritrichously flagellated” intermediate strains, while that of ubiquinone-9 and -8 in genus Acetohacter as well as ubiquinone-8 and -7 in “polarly flagellated” intermediate strains. These results indicate that the kind of ubiquinone present may be used to distinguish the genera Gluconobacter and Acetobacter as one of simple and effective criteria. Some discussions are made on the taxonomical positions of the so-called intermediate strains. © 1969, Applied Microbiology, Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Research Foundation. All rights reserved.