Oxidation of Metabolites Highlights the Microbial Interactions and Role ofAcetobacter pasteurianusduring Cocoa Bean Fermentation
ABSTRACTFour cocoa-specific acetic acid bacterium (AAB) strains, namely,Acetobacter pasteurianus386B,Acetobacter ghanensisLMG 23848T,Acetobacter fabarumLMG 24244T, andAcetobacter senegalensis108B, were analyzed kinetically and metabolically during monoculture laboratory fermentations. A cocoa pulp simulation medium (CPSM) for AAB, containing ethanol, lactic acid, and mannitol, was used. All AAB strains differed in their ethanol and lactic acid oxidation kinetics, whereby onlyA. pasteurianus386B performed a fast oxidation of ethanol and lactic acid into acetic acid and acetoin, respectively. OnlyA. pasteurianus386B andA. ghanensisLMG 23848Toxidized mannitol into fructose. Coculture fermentations withA. pasteurianus386B orA. ghanensisLMG 23848TandLactobacillus fermentum222 in CPSM for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) containing glucose, fructose, and citric acid revealed oxidation of lactic acid produced by the LAB strain into acetic acid and acetoin that was faster in the case ofA. pasteurianus386B. A triculture fermentation withSaccharomyces cerevisiaeH5S5K23,L. fermentum222, andA. pasteurianus386B, using CPSM for LAB, showed oxidation of ethanol and lactic acid produced by the yeast and LAB strain, respectively, into acetic acid and acetoin. Hence, acetic acid and acetoin are the major end metabolites of cocoa bean fermentation. All data highlight thatA. pasteurianus386B displayed beneficial functional roles to be used as a starter culture, namely, a fast oxidation of ethanol and lactic acid, and that these metabolites play a key role as substrates forA. pasteurianusin its indispensable cross-feeding interactions with yeast and LAB during cocoa bean fermentation.