Transcriptome response of Acetobacter pasteurianus Ab3 to high acetic acid stress during vinegar production

Acetic acid accumulation is a universal limiting factor to the vinegar manufacture because of the toxic effect of acetic acid on the acid producing strain, such as Acetobacter pasteurianus. In this study, we aimed to investigate the genome-wide transcriptional response of A. pasteurianus Ab3 to high acid stress during vinegar production. By comparing the transcriptional landscape of cells harvested from a long-term cultivation with high acidity (70 ± 3 g/L) to that of low acidity (10 ± 2 g/L), we demonstrated that 1005 genes were differentially expressed. By functional enrichment analysis, we found that the expression of genes related to the two-component systems (TCS) and toxin-antitoxin systems (TAS) was significantly regulated under high acid stress. Cells increased the genome stability to withstand the intracellular toxicity caused by the acetic acid accumulation by repressing the expression of transposases and integrases. Moreover, high acid stress induced the expression of genes involved in the pathways of peptidoglycan, ceramide, and phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis as well as the Tol-Pal and TonB-ExbB systems. In addition, we observed that cells increased and diversified the ATP production to resist high acid stress. Transcriptional upregulation in the pathways of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) synthesis and thiamine metabolism suggested that cells may increase the production of prosthetic groups to ensure the enzyme activity upon high acid stress. Collectively, the results of this study increase our current understanding of the acetic acid resistance (AAR) mechanisms in A. pasteurianus and provide opportunities for strain improvement and scaled-up vinegar production.Key Points• TCS and TAS are responsive to the acid stress and constitute the regulating networks.• Adaptive expression changes of cell envelope elements help cell resist acid stress.• Cells promote genome stability and diversify ATP production to withstand acid stress.