Abstract
The malolactic fermentation has been shown to be an energy-yielding process in six strains of lactic acid bacteria which contain the full malolactic enzyme system. The mechanism for this reaction is chemiosmotic. A mutant strain with a defective malolactic enzyme did not produce ATP during malate catabolism; the parent strain did produce ATP during malate catabolism. A strain of Lactobacillus plantarum that is naturally malolactic-deficient does not produce ATP when given L-malate as a substrate. The data support the hypothesis that the malolactic enzyme system has evolved as an energy-producing mechanism for lactic acid bacteria adapted to the low pH of wine.
- Received July 1989.
- Copyright 1990 by the American Society for Enology and Viticulture
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