초록

Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) were isolated from vinegar fermented through traditional methods in Namhae county, Gyeongnam,
the Republic of Korea. The isolated strains were Gram negative, non-motile, and short-rods. Three selected
strains were identified as either Acetobacter pasteurianus or Acetobacter aceti by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A. pasteurianus NH2 and A. pasteurianus NH6 utilized ethanol, glycerol, D-fructose, D-glucose, D-mannitol, D-sorbitol, L-glutamic acid and Na-acetate. A. aceti NH12 utilized ethanol, n-propanol, glycerol, D-mannitol and Na-acetate. These strains grew best at 30oC and an initial pH of 3.4. They were tolerant against acetic acid at up to 3% of initial concentration (v/v). The optimum conditions for acetic acid production were 30oC and pH 3.4, with an initial ethanol concentration of 5%, resulting in an acetic acid concentration of 7.3−7.7%.