| Clostridium histolyticum | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Bacteria |
| Division: | Firmicutes |
| Class: | Clostridia |
| Family: | Clostridiaceae |
| Genus: | Clostridium |
| Species: | Cl. histolyticum |
| Binomial name | |
| Clostridium histolyticum (Weinberg and Séguin 1916) Bergey, Harrison, Breed, Hammer, and Huntoon 1923 |
|
Clostridium histolyticum (or CLOHI) is an anaerobic, motile, gram-positive bacterium that thrives in feces and soil. The ammonia and proteases it produces, including several collagenases, digest proteins outside its body into amino acids, which it eats. When Cl. histolyticum infects an open wound, it can also necrotize tissue for consumption by secreting an exotoxin that induces cytolysis.
In the mid-1910s, Michel Weinberg and Pierre Séguin found this species to be the primary pathogen in cases of gas gangrene. After isolating the bacteria from patients suffering from this condition, Weinberg and Séguin originally classified Cl. histolyticum as a member of the genus Bacillus. Heller renamed the species Weinbergillus histolyticus in 1922, and in the following year Bergey, Harrison, et al. reclassified it as a Clostridium species.
Collagenase clostridium histolyticum, a collagenase produced by this species, is applied for the medical treatment of chronic conditions characterized by excessive collagen deposition.