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The bacterium (Clostridium botulinum) that causes botulism is -
A
A facultative anaerobe
B
An obligate anaerobe
C
A facultative aerobe
D
An obligate aerobe
Detailed Solution
Clostridium botulinum is a rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium.
It is an obligate anaerobe: it can grow only in the complete absence of oxygen, and oxygen is harmful to it.
That is why it multiplies in improperly sterilised canned and sealed foods, where conditions are anaerobic.
There it produces botulinum toxin, a powerful neurotoxin that causes the severe food poisoning called botulism.
A facultative anaerobe can live with or without oxygen, and an obligate aerobe can live only in the presence of oxygen.
So Clostridium botulinum is an obligate anaerobe.
It is an obligate anaerobe: it can grow only in the complete absence of oxygen, and oxygen is harmful to it.
That is why it multiplies in improperly sterilised canned and sealed foods, where conditions are anaerobic.
There it produces botulinum toxin, a powerful neurotoxin that causes the severe food poisoning called botulism.
A facultative anaerobe can live with or without oxygen, and an obligate aerobe can live only in the presence of oxygen.
So Clostridium botulinum is an obligate anaerobe.