| Species/Subspecies:
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Clostridium difficile |
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| Etymology:
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Genus name: a small spindle. Species epithet: difficult (refers to the difficulty to isolate it). |
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| 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.
[Very important]
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| Taxonomy:
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| Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
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| Firmicutes | Clostridia | Clostridiales | Clostridiaceae | Clostridium |
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| Type Strain:
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AS 1.2184 = ATCC 9689 = CCUG 4938 = NCTC 11209. |
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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.
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| Micromorphology:
| Large motile rods (0.5-1.9 x 3.0 to 16.9 µm) with peritrichous flagella. Can form spores. |
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Gram +/Gram -:
 | G+ |
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| Metabolism:
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Strictly anaerobic |
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| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/- |
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| Other Enzymes:
| Lecithinase-, esculinase +, tryptophanase-. |
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| Fermentation of carbohydrates:
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| D-Glucose | Lactose | Maltose | L-rhamnose | Sucrose |
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| ? | - | - | - | - | | L-Arabinos | Cellobios | D-mannitol | Salicin | Trehalose |
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| - | (+) | (+) | (-) | (-) | | Glycerol | Inulin | Raffinose | D-sorbitol | Starch |
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| ? | - | - | (-) | - |
Other carbohydrates: Fructose +, galactose -, mannose (+), ribose -, xylose (-). |
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| Spec. Char.:
| |
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| Hosts:
| Horse (foal), humans, pig etc. |
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| Disease (Swedish): | Antibiotika-associerad diarré (AAD) hos föl. Enterit hos spädgrisar. AAD och pseudomembranös kolit hos människa. |
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| Disease (English): | Antibiotic associated diarrhoea (ADD) in foals. Neonatal necrotizing colitis in pigs. ADD and pseudomambranous colitis in humans. |
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| Clinical Picture:
| |
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| Virulence Factors:
| Toxin A (enterotoxin) and toxin B (cytotoxin), which are encoded by the genes tcdA and tcdB, respectively. |
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| Genome Sequence:
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| Acc-no | Strain | Size (bp) | Genome |
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| NC_009089 | 630 | 4 290 252 | 1c + 1c |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.:
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| Acc-no | Strain | Number of NT | Operon |
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| AB075770 | ATCC 9689T | 1 466 | 11 |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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| Comment: | Is a common environmental bacterium. Has also been found in animal foods. |
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| Reference(s):
| No. 20, 33 |
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| Link(s):
| Genus Clostridium |
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