Clostridioides difficile (syn. Clostridium difficile), also known as C. difficile, C.diff, or sometimes CDF/cdf, is a species of Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. Clostridioides are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature, and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains. Under the microscope, they appear as long, irregular (often drumstick- or spindle-shaped) cells with a bulge at their terminal ends (forms subterminal spores). Under Gram staining, C. difficile cells are Gram-positive and show optimum growth on blood agar at human body temperatures in the absence of oxygen. C. difficile is catalase and superoxide dismutase negative, and produces two types of toxins: enterotoxin A and cytotoxin B, which disrupts cytoskeleton signal transductions in the host. When stressed, the bacteria produce spores that are able to tolerate extreme conditions that the active bacteria cannot tolerate.
Clostridioides difficile (syn. Clostridium difficile), also known as C. difficile, C.diff, or sometimes CDF/cdf, is a species of Gram-positive spore-forming bacterium. Clostridioides are anaerobic, motile bacteria, ubiquitous in nature, and especially prevalent in soil. Its vegetative cells are rod shaped, pleomorphic, and occur in pairs or short chains. Under the microscope, they appear as long, irregular (often drumstick- or spindle-shaped) cells with a bulge at their terminal ends (forms subterminal spores). Under Gram staining, C. difficile cells are Gram-positive and show optimum growth on blood agar at human body temperatures in the absence of oxygen. C. difficile is catalase and superoxide dismutase negative, and produces two types of toxins: enterotoxin A and cytotoxin B, which disrupts cytoskeleton signal transductions in the host. When stressed, the bacteria produce spores that are able to tolerate extreme conditions that the active bacteria cannot tolerate.
