Sarcina (bacterium)

Sarcina
Gastric mucosa and Sarcina on upper right. H&E stain.
Scientific classification
Domain:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Sarcina

Goodsir, 1842
Type species
Sarcina ventriculi
Goodsir, 1842
Species
Synonyms
  • "Butyrisarcina" Kluyver & Van Niel 1936
  • "Urosarcina" (Miquel 1888) Miquel 1893
  • "Welchia" Pribram 1929 ex Prévot 1933
  • "Welchillus" Heller 1922
  • "Zymosarcina" Smit 1930

Sarcina is a genus of gram-positive cocci bacteria in the family Clostridiaceae. A synthesizer of microbial cellulose, various members of the genus are human flora and may be found in the skin and large intestine. The genus takes its name from the Latin word "sarcina," meaning pack or bundle, after the cuboidal (2x2x2) cellular associations they form during division along three planes.

The genus's type species is Sarcina ventriculi, a variety found on the surface of cereal seeds, in soil, mud, and in the stomachs of humans, rabbits, and guinea pigs.