Proteolysis influences morphology of L. monocytogenes. The percentages of elongated cells were measured for at least 10 fields of view or 1,000 cells. Elongated cells were defined as perimeter lengths greater than one SD above the wt mean. Each symbol represents a biological replicate, the bars indicate the mean, and the error bars denote the SEM. P values were calculated using an unpaired Student t test compared to the parental strain, as indicated. *, P < 0.05; ***, P < 0.001.