Synthetic Medium for Acetobacter xylinum That Can Be Used for Isolation of Auxotrophic Mutants and Study of Cellulose Biosynthesis

Acetobacter xylinum is a bacterium that can synthesize cellulose when grown in an undefined medium containing glucose. We developed a defined minimal medium for A. xylinum that contains 1% glucose, 0.1% NH₄Cl, 0.115% citric acid, 0.33% Na₂HPO₄, 0.01% KCl, 0.025% MgSO₄. 7H₂O, and 7.5 mg of nicotinamide per liter which both allows cellulose synthesis and can be used to isolate a variety of auxotrophic mutants.