Natural transformation and cell division delay in competent Staphylococcus aureus

Natural transformation, considered one of the three main mechanisms leading to horizontal gene transfer in bacteria, is able to promote genomic plasticity and foster antibiotic resistance spreading. Conserved machinery and actors required to perform natural transformation have been shown to accumulate at different cellular localizations depending on the model organism considered. Here, we show in the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus that DNA binding, uptake, and recombination are spatially and temporally coordinated to ensure S. aureus natural transformation. We also reveal that localization of natural transformation proteins occurs in the vicinity of the division septum allowing S. aureus competent cells to block cell division to ensure the success of natural transformation before the final constriction of the cytokinetic ring.