Clostridium beijerinckii is a gram positive, rod shaped, motile bacterium of the genus Clostridium

Clostridium

Clostridium is a genus of Gram-positive bacteria, belonging to the Firmicutes. They are obligate anaerobes capable of producing endospores. Individual cells are rod-shaped, which gives them their name, from the Greek kloster or spindle...

. It has been isolated from feces and soil. Produces oval to subterminal spores.

Industrially interesting for its ability to produce butanol

Butanol

Butanol or butyl alcohol can refer to any of the four isomeric alcohols of formula C4H9OH:*n-Butanol, butan-1-ol, 1-butanol, n-butyl alcohol;*Isobutanol, 2-methylpropan-1-ol, isobutyl alcohol;...

, acetone

Acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the formula 2CO, a colorless, mobile, flammable liquid, the simplest example of the ketones.Acetone is miscible with water and serves as an important solvent in its own right, typically as the solvent of choice for cleaning purposes in the laboratory...

 and/or isopropanol at strictly anaerobic conditions at 37°C using a wide range of substrates including (but not limited to) pentoses, hexoses and starch

Starch

Starch or amylum is a carbohydrate consisting of a large number of glucose units joined together by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by all green plants as an energy store...

. Its ability to grow in simple, inexpensive media

Growth medium

A growth medium or culture medium is a liquid or gel designed to support the growth of microorganisms or cells, or small plants like the moss Physcomitrella patens.There are different types of media for growing different types of cells....

, stability in regard to strain degeneration, good adaptability to continuous processes and sustained production of solvents well into the log phase are other advantages of this bacterium.