| Species/Subspecies: | Clostridium tetani | ||||||||||||
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| Categories: | Causes hemolysis; spore forming; motile | ||||||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: a small spindle. Species epithet: of a tension (of tetanus which refers to the tension in the muscles which is caused by tetanus). | ||||||||||||
| Significance: | [Very important] | ||||||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Clostridia Order Clostridiales Family Clostridiaceae Genus Clostridium |
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| Type Strain: | ATCC 19406 = CCUG 4220 = NCTC 279. | ||||||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| C. tetani produces a very faint growth on FAA plates. Single colonies can hardly be observed, but a thin film of bacteria can often be discerned, because the bacteria swarm on moist agar plates. On dryer blood agar single medium sized colonies may be formed (4-6 mm in diameter). These colonies are flat, translucent and grayish with an irregular margin. A thin zone of β-hemolysis can often be observed around colonies on blood agar. | ||||||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Large rods (0.5-1.7 x 2.1-18.1 µm), which may appear single, in pairs or in short chains. Most strains are motile and have peritrichous flagella. Produce endospores, which usually are spherical and terminal. The spores may also be oval and subterminal. | ||||||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G+ (old cultures may appear as G-) | ||||||||||||
| Metabolism: | Anaerobic | ||||||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | -/- | ||||||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Esculinase -, lecithinase -, tryptophanase V. | ||||||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose - lactose - maltose - L-rhamnose - sucrose - L-arabinose - cellobiose - D-mannitol - salicin - trehalose - glycerol - inulin - raffinose - D-sorbitol - starch - |
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| Spec. Char.: | Optimal growth temperature: 37°C. | ||||||||||||
| Special Media: | |||||||||||||
| Reservoir: | C. tetani can be found in soil (particularly manured) and can be isolated from the gut of different animal species. | ||||||||||||
| Disease: | Tetanus
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| Virulence Factors: | C. tetani produces two exotoxins, tetanolysin and tetanospasmin, which are encoded by plasmid born genes. Tetanospasmin is a neurotoxin, which is similar to botulinum toxin in structure and mode of action, but they act on different parts of the nervous system. Tetanospasmin blocks the inhibitory nerve impulses by interfering with the release of neurotransmitters (glycine and γ-aminobutyric acid) and this in turn leads to a spastic paralysis. C.f. Clostridium botulinum.
The lethal dose of tetanospasmin for humans is approximately 2.5 ng/kg of body weight. Of natural toxins, only the botulinum toxin is more potent. Tetanolysin has a local necrotizing effect, which may facilitate the spread of C. tetani. | ||||||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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C. tetani belongs, together with about 80 other Clostridium spp., to cluster I, which use to be regarded as genus Clostridium sensu stricto. There are about 100 additional species described. | ||||||||||||
| Reference(s): | No. 33 | ||||||||||||
| Link: | Botulinum + Tetanus Toxin Mechanism | ||||||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-08 |