| Species/Subspecies: | Clostridium perfringens | ||||||||
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| Categories: | Zoonotic; causes hemolysis; spore forming | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: a small spindle. Species epithet: breaking through, breaking in pieces. | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Very important] | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Clostridia Order Clostridiales Family Clostridiaceae Genus Clostridium |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 13124 = CCUG 1795 = NCTC 8237. | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| Form large translucent, flat and filamentous colonies (about 5 mm in diameter) with irregular edges. Fluoresces in red on blood agar in the presence of carbohydrates. Most strains give a double hemolysis zone on bovine blood agar. | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Large non-motile rods (0.6-2.4 x 1.3-19.0 µm). Form spores, but this is rarely seen. They are large oval and central or subterminal. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Anaerobic (but not very strict). | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/- | ||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Esculinase v, lechithinase +, tryptophanase -. | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose ? lactose + maltose + L-rhamnose - sucrose + L-arabinose - cellobiose (-) D-mannitol - salicin - trehalose v glycerol ? inulin (-) raffinose v D-sorbitol (-) starch v |
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| Spec. Char.: | Optimal growth temperature: 43-47°C. | ||||||||
| Special Media:
| Tryptose Sulfite Cycloserine agar (TSC agar) is used for isolation and enumeration of both vegetative cells and spores of C. perfringens in food and clinical samples. | ||||||||
| Disease: | Necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens. Food poisoning. |
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| Hosts: | Chicken, pig, ruminants, horse, rabbit, dog, humans etc. | ||||||||
| Clinical Picture: | |||||||||
| Virulence Factors: | Hemolysins (α-, δ-and θ-toxin), etc. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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About 180 differens species have been descibed within genus Clostridium. C. chauvoei C. perfringens belongs to the same phylogenetic group of clostridia as, among others, C. chauvoei and C. septicum. | ||||||||
| Comment: | C. perfingens is divided in different groups depending upon which enterotoxins that are produced. Type A produces α-toxin. Type B produces α-, β-and ε-toxin. Type C produces α-and β-toxin. Type D produces α-and ε-toxin. Type E produces α-and ι-toxin. | ||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 8, 35, 33 | ||||||||
| Link: | Clostridia.net | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-08-14 |