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Corynebacterium
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<p><i>Corynebacterium</i> is a <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> of <a href="/facts/Gram-positive_bacteria/H6WYQ17e">Gram-positive bacteria</a> and most are <a href="/facts/Aerobe/a629EQD7">aerobic</a>. They are <a href="/facts/Bacillus_(shape)/0rGR5vvU">bacilli</a> (rod-shaped), and in some phases of life they are, more specifically, <a href="/facts/Club_(weapon)/DRU9yL8M">club</a>-shaped, which inspired the genus name (<i><a href="/facts/Coryneform/UHgS6h4a">coryneform</a></i> means "club-shaped"). </p><p>They are widely distributed in nature in the <a href="/facts/Microbiota/V4ymrawz">microbiota</a> of <a href="/facts/Animal/4b8J33nd">animals</a> (including the <a href="/facts/Human_microbiota/KerK9YGP">human microbiota</a>) and are mostly innocuous, most commonly existing in <a href="/facts/Commensalism/KnJkboX0">commensal</a> relationships with their hosts. Some, such as <i><a href="/facts/Corynebacterium_glutamicum/Kbk757cd">C. glutamicum</a></i>, are commercially and industrially useful. Others can cause human disease, including, most notably, <a href="/facts/Diphtheria/IKFXNjAV">diphtheria</a>, which is caused by <i><a href="/facts/Corynebacterium_diphtheriae/JPsf88HV">C. diphtheriae</a></i>. Like various species of microbiota (including their relatives in the genera <i><a href="/facts/Arcanobacterium/X1z7XFRI">Arcanobacterium</a></i> and <i>Trueperella</i>), they are usually not <a href="/facts/Pathogen/axMXtV1M">pathogenic</a>, but can occasionally capitalize <a href="/facts/Opportunistic_infection/d6ndMynw">opportunistically</a> on atypical access to <a href="/facts/Tissue_(biology)/H7CpML7A">tissues</a> (via <a href="/facts/Wound/snv0h3Gj">wounds</a>) or <a href="/facts/Immunodeficiency/CIEujXmc">weakened host defenses</a>. </p>