Fig. 5

Representative TEM micro graphs of C. difficile R20291 (A) and CD630 (B) spores, and B. thuringiensis (C) spores treated with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite for 10 minutes. In R20291, many spores remain visually intact, with the core (yellow arrows) remaining dense, the cortex (blue arrow), being clear and visible. In CD630, while the core and cortex are still intact, there is leakage of material from the coat into the interspace between the coat and exosporium (red arrow). In B. thuringiensis, the core loses electron density and cortex is no longer visible after treatment. Scale bars are 500 nm