OCCURRENCE OF CLOSTRIDIUM-TYROBUTYRICUM IN CATTLE SLURRY AND FRESH FORAGE GRASSES

A comparative, numerical, taxonomic analysis was carried out on 24 sel ected strains of Clostridium spp. isolated from cattle slurries and fr esh forage grasses fertilized with slurries, as well as on 10 culture- collection Clostridium tyrobutyricum strains for reference. The result s showed an unexpectedly low occurrence of the Clostridium tyrobutyric um, with only one of the 24 strains isolated om slurry belonging to th is species. The majority of Clostridium strains isolated from grasses were identified as C. malenominatum Although the predominant anaerobic , spore-forming colonizers of the cattle slurry belonged taxonomically to the genus Clostridium they could not be firmly identified, bur app eared to show some resemblance to C. propionicum.