Anaerobic
anaerobic Any organism or environmental or cellular process that does not require the use of free oxygen. Certain bacteria such as Actinomyces Israeli, Bacteroides fragilis, Prevotella melaninogenica, Clostridium difficile, and Peptostreptococcus are anaerobes.
In effect, an anaerobic organism does not need oxygen for growth. Many anaerobes are even sensitive to oxygen. Obligate (strict) anaerobes grow only in the absence of oxygen. Facultative anaerobes can grow either in the presence or in the absence of oxygen.
