RESUMO
The presence of acetic acid bacteria populations on grape surfaces from several Chilean valleys is reported. The bacteria were analysed at both the species and the strain level by molecular methods such as RFLP-PCR 16S rRNA gene, RFLP-PCR ITS 16S-23S rRNA gene regions and Arbitrary Primed (AP) PCR. Our results show that there are limited numbers of species of acetic acid bacteria in the grapes and that there is a need for an enrichment medium before plating to recover the individual colonies. In the Northernmost region analysed, the major species recovered was a non-acetic acid bacteria, Stenotrophomonas maltophila. Following the North-South axis of Chilean valleys, the observed distribution of acetic acid bacteria was zonified: Acetobacter cerevisiae was only present in the North and Gluconobacter oxydans in the South. Both species were recovered together in only one location. The influence of the grape cultivar was negligible. Variability in strains was found to be high (more than 40%) for both Acetobacteraceae species.