For the past week, a 65-year-old woman has been treated for a severe infection with broad-spectrum antibiotics, and she had recovered well. Over the past day, however, she has developed foul-smelling, voluminous, greenish, watery diarrhea, as well as abdominal pain and fever. She is diagnosed with pseudomembranous colitis. Which of the following is the mechanism associated with this condition?
A. Aggregation of bacterial colonies on the lumen, forming pseudomembranes
B. Bacterial release of exotoxin, inducing necrosis of the mucosa
C. Physical invasion of bacteria into the superficial mucosa, leading to pseudomembrane formation
D. Selective killing of C. difficile bacteria by antibiotics
E. Spread of the previous infection to the colon