<i>C</i>. <i>difficile lcpB</i> disruption profoundly impacts bacterial morphology.

<p>Columns 1 and 2: Scanning electron micrographs of <i>C</i>. <i>difficile</i> strains in low resolution (1000X; Column 1, scale bar is 10μm), and high resolution (10,000X, Column 2, scale bar is 2.5μm). Curved, elongated morphotype of the <i>lcpB</i>^- mutant [<i>lcpB</i>^- (vector)] is shown in Row 2, and complementation-based rescue in Row 3. There was no obvious phenotype for the <i>lcpA</i>^- strain. Column 3: Transmission electron micrographs (TEM) of parent strain (Row 1), <i>lcpB</i>^- mutant [Row 2; <i>lcpB</i>^- (vector)]) and complement (Row 3). Improper septum formation (yellow arrow) and a diffuse cell wall structure (black arrow) is shown. Scale bar for TEM is 100nm. All images are representative of a minimum of 10 fields visualized, and at least two biological replicate preparations.