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Clostridium scindensRANK: SpeciesTAXONOMY: Terrabacteria group -> Firmicutes -> Clostridia -> Clostridiales -> Lachnospiraceae -> Lachnoclostridium -> Clostridium scindens OVERVIEW: Clostridium scindens: a human gut microbe with a high potential to convert glucocorticoids into androgens. [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23772041]Clostridium scindens sp. nov., an obligate anaerobe with desmolytic activity, was isolated from human fecal flora. The desmolase, not associated previously with any specific intestinal microorganism, cleaves the carbon-carbon bond of 17-hydroxylated corticoids at C17-C20, thereby converting them to androstans (C19 steroids). In primary cultures on sheep blood agar plates, C. scindens forms minute, nonhemdytic colonies. The gram-positive rods (0.5 to 0.7 by 1 to 2.5 pm) are slightly curved. The rare oval terminal spores (0.8 to 2.0 pm in diameter) are extremely difficult to demonstrate in Gram-stained smears. More than 40% of the cells are fimbriated. Neither a capsule nor flagella are present. D-Fructose, D-glucose, lactose, D-mannoae, D-ribose, and D-xylose are fermented. The major fermentation products are acetic acid, ethanol, and hydrogen. The type strain is ATCC 35704 (Bokkenheuser strain 19). This species has been identified as a resident in the human gastrointestinal tract based on the phylogenetic framework of its small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences.[PMC 4262072]
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