What does "propionibacterium" mean?

Any of various saprophytic gram-positive bacteria, of the genus Propionibacterium, that occur in milk and in the intestines, some of which are pathogenic, but others of which produce the holes in Swiss cheese

Propionibacterium

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of various saprophytic gram-positive bacteria, of the genus Propionibacterium, that occur in milk and in the intestines, some of which are pathogenic, but others of which produce the holes in Swiss cheese

Example

More examples

"Scientists were surprised to find the grapevines they studied harbored Propionibacterium acnes, a bacterium usually found on human skin and best known for causing acne."

Related phrases

gram positive swiss cheese

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.