| Species/Subspecies: | Clostridioides difficile | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Categories: | Spore forming; motile | ||||||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: an organism similar to members of the genus Clostridium. Species epithet: difficult (refers to the difficulty to isolate it). | ||||||||||||
| Significance: | Nosocomial enteric infections caused by C. difficile in connection with antibiotic treatments of humans has recently attracted attention in the media in Sweden (Jan. 2009). C. difficile and calicivirus are the two most common nosocomial enteric pathogens in humans. A particularly aggressive strain (ribotype 027 or O27) of C. difficile has recently been demonstrated in patients in Sweden (January 2014). This strain is resistant against fluoroquinolones (gyrase inhibitors). [Very important] |
||||||||||||
| Alternative Species Name(s): | Clostridium difficile | ||||||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Clostridia Order Clostridiales Family Clostridiaceae Genus Clostridioides |
||||||||||||
| Type Strain: | AS 1.2184 = ATCC 9689 = CCUG 4938 = NCTC 11209. | ||||||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| The large colonies (2-5 mm in diameter) have an irregular edge and fluoresces in green-yellow under UV light. Smells like horse manure. Gives no hemolysis on FAA plates. | ||||||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Large motile rods (0.5-1.9 x 3.0 to 16.9 µm) with peritrichous flagella. Can form spores. | ||||||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ | ||||||||||||
| Metabolism: | Strictly anaerobic | ||||||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/- | ||||||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Lecithinase-, esculinase +, tryptophanase-. | ||||||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose ? lactose - maltose - L-rhamnose - sucrose - L-arabinose - cellobiose (+) D-mannitol (+) salicin (-) trehalose (-) glycerol ? inulin - raffinose - D-sorbitol (-) starch - |
||||||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | |||||||||||||
| Disease: |
|
||||||||||||
| Virulence Factors: | Toxin A (enterotoxin) and toxin B (cytotoxin), which are encoded by the genes tcdA and tcdB, respectively. | ||||||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
|
||||||||||||
| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
| ||||||||||||
| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
|
Only two species have been described within the genus Clostridioides, but this genus is related to the genus Clostridium, which consists of about 175 species. However, many species in this genus have proven to be incorrectly classified and C. difficile is an example of this. | ||||||||||||
| Comment: | Is a common environmental bacterium. Has also been found in animal foods. | ||||||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 20, 33, 131 | ||||||||||||
| Link: | Clostridia.net | ||||||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |
