Genome shuffling to improve fermentation properties of acetic acid bacterium by the improvement of ethanol tolerance

Whole‐cell biocatalysts are commonly limited by low tolerance of extreme process conditions such as alcoholic strength, temperature, pH and concentration of solute. Here, we describe the use of genome shuffling to improve the ethanol tolerance of acetic acid bacterium, which is a poorly characterised industrial strain. The best strain A3‐11 was constructed and selected after three rounds of shuffling from the wild‐type strain of acetic acid bacterium. A3‐11 could grow in liquid medium with 13% ethanol. During the vinegar fermentation, the organic acid components produced were distinctly improved by A3‐11. It was found that the content of acetic acid was twice as much as the control. Furthermore, the concentration of tartaric acid was 4.04‐fold more than the control. Notably, A3‐11 increased in butanedioic acid production by up to 71.73% compared with the control.