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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Clostridium tyrobutyricum
Categories: Causes hemolysis; spore forming; motile
Etymology: Genus name: a small spindle.
Species epithet: the butyric acid-producing organism from cheese
Significance:During cheese production (particularly of Emmentaler, Gouda and Edamer), it is very important that the raw milk does not contain spores of C. tyrobutyricum.
  [Important]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Bacillota
Class
Clostridia
Order
Clostridiales
Family
Clostridiaceae 
Genus
Clostridium
Type Strain: ATCC 25755 = CCUG 48315
Macromorphology (smell): Forms small (0.5 mm in diameter) grayish and translucent colonies on blood agar. The colonies are glossy and usually β-hemolytic.
Micromorphology: Rods (1.1-1.6 x 1.9-13.9 µm), which usually are motile (peritrichous).
Gram +/Gram -:G+
Metabolism: Anaerobic
Catalase/Oxidase:-/?
Other Enzymes: DNase-, esculinase-, tryptophanase- (= indol-)
Fermentation of carbohydrates:
D-glucose
?
lactose
-
maltose
-
L-rhamnose
-
sucrose
-
L-arabinose
-
cellobiose
-
D-mannitol
v
salicin
-
trehalose
-
glycerol
?
inulin
-
raffinose
-
D-sorbitol
-
starch
-
Fructose is one of the few carbohydrates that is fermented by C. tyrobutyricum.
Spec. Char.:
Reservoir: C. tyrobutyricum is present in the environment and raw milk may contain spores of this bacterium.
16S rRNA Seq.:  -
Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Comment:If raw milk, which is used in production of cheese, is contaminater with spores of C. tyrobutyricum, these may germinate. Then, large cracks are formed in the cheese, which tastes and smells bad because butyric acid is produced by C. tyrobutyricum, during the "late-blowing" defect.
Updated:2023-03-08

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