TL;DR:
A C. difficile ΔhypD mutant mutant was constructed and found that it was modestly impaired in fitness in a mouse model of infection, and was associated with an altered microbiota when compared to mice challenged with the wild-type strain.
(via Semantic Scholar)
Proline is an essential environmental amino acid that
C. difficile
uses to support growth and cause significant disease. A posttranslationally modified form, hydroxyproline, is highly abundant in collagen, which is degraded by host proteases in response to
C. difficile
toxin activity.