Kingdom Bacteria Class Clostridia Family Clostridiaceae Rank Species | Phylum Firmicutes Order Clostridiales Genus Clostridium | |
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Similar Clostridium bolteae, Coprococcus eutactus, Clostridium ramosum, Coprococcus, Eggerthella | ||
Clostridium scindens is a species of bacteria in the genus Clostridium. Samples of this species were first isolated from human feces.
Clostridia (members of the genus Clostridium) are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature, and especially prevalent in soil. Under the microscope, they appear as long, irregular (often drumstick- or spindle-shaped) cells with a bulge at their terminal ends.
C. scindens is capable of converting primary bile acids to toxic secondary bile acids, as well as converting glucocorticoids to androgens by side-chain cleavage.
C. scindens may become established in the human colon, and its presence is associated with resistance to C. difficile infection, due to production of secondary bile acids which inhibit the growth of “C. difficile”.