clostridium
Noun
Meaning
spindle-shaped bacterial cell especially one swollen at the center by an endospore
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
Botulism Infants can develop botulism after consuming honey contaminated with Clostridium botulinum endospores. citation Infantile botulism shows geographical variation.
Chapter 29. Clostridium, Peptostreptococcus, Bacteroides, and Other Anaerobes.
A poisonous nerve toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum causes botulism.
Food-borne botulism results, indirectly, from ingestion of food contaminated with Clostridium spores, where exposure to an anaerobic environment allows the spores to germinate, after which the bacteria can multiply and produce toxin.
However, some bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum or Bacillus cereus can form spores that survive boiling, which then germinate and regrow after the food has cooled.
C. botulinum groups I-IV, as well as some strains of Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii, are the bacteria responsible for producing botulinum toxin.