False-colour transmission electron micrograph (TEM) of Clostridium perfringens (alternative name Clostridium welchii or Welch's bacillus), an individual Gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium that causes blood poisoning, types of food poisoning & gas gangrene in man. C. perfringens secretes exotoxins; one of which, alpha-toxin (a lecithinase enzyme) has the ability to destroy plasma membranes surrounding cells - a possible cause of tissue damage in gas gangrene. Food poisoning from C. perfringens results from eating foods where the species has developed & formed exotoxins. Magnification: x15, 000 at 35mm size, x30, 000 at 6x7cm size.