Domain Bacteria Family Clostridiaceae Genus Clostridium Order Clostridiales | Class Clostridia Phylum Firmicutes Rank Species | |
Similar Clostridium acetobutylicum, Azotobacter vinelandii, Azotobacter, Clostridium butyricum, Clostridium beijerinckii | ||
Clostridium pasteurianum (previously known as Clostridium pastorianum) is a bacterium discovered in 1890 by the Russian microbiologist Sergei Winogradsky. It was the first free living (non-symbiotic) micro-organism discovered that could fix free nitrogen from the air.
Contents
Clostridium pasteurianum is a known producer of classical acid. It has the ability to convert carbohydrates to butyrate, acetate, carbon dioxide, and molecular hydrogen through fermentation. Similar to Clostridium acetobutylicum, Clostridium pasteurianum also has the ability to switch from acid to solvent production under certain growth conditions, Several efforts have been made to document its growth conditions; however, it is still unclear whether the growth parameters which have been shown to produce favorable solvent production in C. acetobutylicum played a significant role in the regulation of metabolism in C. pasteuianum in a similar fashion.
C. pasteurianum is a mesophile.
Taxonomy
Initially named Clostridium pastorianum by Winogradsky, its name was later changed to the current spelling.
Morphology
C. pasteurianum is a large, spore-forming bacillus. It is a soil bacterium, and an obligate anaerobe.