Species/Subspecies: | Clostridium tyrobutyricum |
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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: | 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 - |
Spec. Char.: | |
Special Media: | |
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 |