Comparative pangenomic analyses and biotechnological potential of cocoa-related Acetobacter senegalensis strains

Acetobacter senegalensis belongs to the group of acetic acid bacteria (AAB) that present potential biotechnological applications, for production of D-gluconate, cellulose and acetic acid. AAB can overcome heat and acid stresses by using strategies involving the overexpression of heat-shock proteins and enzymes from the complex pyrroquinoline-ADH, besides alcohol dehydrogenases (ADH). Nonetheless, the isolation of A. senegalensis and other AAB from food may be challenging due to presence of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells and due to uncertainties about nutritional requirements. To contribute for a better understanding of the ecology of AAB, this paper reports on the pangenome analysis of five strains of A. senegalensis recently isolated from a Brazilian spontaneous cocoa fermentation. The results showed biosynthetic clusters exclusively found in some cocoa-related AAB, such as those related to terpene pathways, which are important for flavour development. Genes related to oxidative stress were conserved in all the genomes, with multiple clusters. Moreover, there were genes coding for ADH and putative ABC transporters distributed in core, shell and cloud genomes, while chaperonin-encoding genes were present only in the core and soft-core genomes. Regarding quorum sensing, a response regulator gene was in the shell genome, and the gene encoding for acyl-homoserine lactone efflux protein was in the soft-core genome. There were quorum quenching-related genes, mainly encoding for lactonases, but also for acylases. Moreover, A. senegalensis did not have determinants of virulence or antibiotic resistance, which are good traits for strains intended to be applied in food fermentation.