Efficient nata de coco production of Komagataeibacter nataicola driven by microbiota-fermented coconut water: Biological and structural characteristics

Abstract

Nata de coco is a traditional fermented food, chemically known as bacterial cellulose (BC), widely used in the food industry, personal care, and biomaterial areas. In the nata de coco industry, microbiota-fermented coconut water (FCW) has been regarded as a highly efficient medium for improving BC synthesis by Komagataeibacter spp. However, its effects on the biological properties of the strains of Komagataeibacter and structural characteristics of BC remain unknown, resulting in unstable production and BC quality. This study aimed to explore the biological properties of K. nataicola, the characteristics of BC structure and reasons for the efficiency under the effect of FCW. The results showed that FCW could increase the BC yield of K. nataicola by 2.03–4.75 times, the uridine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase activity by 10–45.3 times, and the hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, or pyruvate kinase activities by 2 times. The extracellular metabolite profile of K. nataicola showed that its glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway was significantly stimulated and the utilization of erythritol obviously increased. These phenomena might be attributed to the use of ethanol, lactate, xylitoland mannitol in FCW by K. nataicola. In addition, the structural characteristics of BC produced in FCW included higher number of hydrogen bonds, thinner fibrils, a looser three-dimensional network, improved porosity and greater mechanical strength. This study offered novel insights into the BC synthesis of K. nataicola and the BC structural characteristics cultivated in FCW, providing valuable references for the efficient production and potential applications of both nata de coco and BC.