[Mesophilic clostridia from soil of the Central Plateau of Costa Rica].

Thirty soil samples from the Central Plateau of Costa Rica yielded 710 isolates of 34 clostridia species. These were Clostridium lituseburense, C. oceanicum and C. sardiniense (100, 73, and 60%, respectively). The toxigenic species of the genus were present in at least one sample, except for C. botulinum, C. chauvoei and C. spiroforme. Diversity per sample (4-12 species) exceeded what has been reported in similar studies. No correlation has been found between the presence of a species and soil characteristics (organic matter, type of soil, pH, precipitation, altitude).