''Dactylosporangium aurantiacum'' is a
Gram-positive
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Gram-positive bact ...
soil-based
actinobacterium in the family
Micromonosporaceae
Micromonosporaceae is a family of bacteria of the class '' Actinomycetia''. They are gram-positive, spore-forming soil organisms that form a true mycelium.
Genera
Micromonosporaceae comprises the following genera:
* ''Actinocatenispora'' Thaw ...
. Like all ''
Dactylosporangium'' species, ''aurantiacum'' is aerobic and mesophilic.
One subspecies, ''hamdenesis'', produces a number of 18-membered macrolide antibiotics called
tiacumicin Tiacumicins are a family of macrolide antibiotics derived from '' Dactylosporangium aurantiacum'' subspecies hamdenesis subspecies Nov. The tiacumicin family of antibiotics has substantial overlap with the clostomicin family.
Six 18-membered ant ...
s as a byproduct of fermentation. One of these, tiacumicin B, commonly known as
fidaxomicin
Fidaxomicin, sold under the brand name Dificid among others, is the first member of a class of narrow spectrum macrocyclic antibiotic drugs called tiacumicins. It is a fermentation product obtained from the actinomycete '' Dactylosporangium aura ...
,
has narrow-spectrum bacteriocidal action against Gram-positive anaerobic bacteria, including ''
Clostridium difficile''.
References
Micromonosporaceae
{{Actinobacteria-stub