clostridium phytofermentans clostridium phytofermentans clostridium phytofermentans (also called lachnoclostridium phytofermentans) is an obligately anaerobic rod-shaped spore-forming, gram-positive bacterium in the family lachnospiraceae. it is a model organism of interest for its ability to ferment diverse plant polysaccharides including cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin to ethanol, acetate, and hydrogen. the c. phytofermentans 4.8 mb genome has been fully sequenced, revealing it contains over 170 enzymes in the cazy database, though one hydrolase appears to be essential for degrading cellulose. clostridium phytofermentans scientific classification domain: bacteria phylum: bacillota class: clostridia order: eubacteriales family: clostridiaceae genus: clostridium species: c. phytofermentans binomial name clostridium phytofermentanswarnick et al. 2002