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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


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:
Phylum
Bacillota
Class
Clostridia
Order
Clostridiales
Family
Clostridiaceae 
Genus
Clostridioides
Type Strain: AS 1.2184 = ATCC 9689 = CCUG 4938 = NCTC 11209.
Macromorphology (smell):
Clostridioides difficile  
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 -:
Clostridioides difficile  
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
-
Other carbohydrates: Fructose +, galactose -, mannose (+), ribose -, xylose (-).
Spec. Char.:
Special Media:
Disease:
HostsDiseaseClinical picture
HorsesAAD, antibiotic associated diarrheaDiarrhea and enterocolitis. Major risk factors in adult horses are hospitalization and antimicrobial treatment, although sporadically, cases can occur
HumansAAD antibiotic associated diarrhea or CDI (Clostridiodes difficile infection)Diarrhea, adominal pain, dehydration, loss of apetite and nausea, sometimes with pseudomembrane formation
Piglets, (1-7 days old)CDI (Clostridiodes difficile infection)Necrotizing colitis (large bowel inflammation), sometimes with pseudomembrane formation
Virulence Factors: Toxin A (enterotoxin) and toxin B (cytotoxin), which are encoded by the genes tcdA and tcdB, respectively.
Genome Sequence:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_009089 630 4 290 252 1c + 1c 

16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
AB075770 ATCC 9689T 1 466 11 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Clostridioides difficile  
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

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