Watching DNA uptake: B. subtilis joins the crowd.

J. D. Zuke, R. Erickson, K. R. Hummels, and B. M. Burton (J Bacteriol 205:e00156-23, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00156-23) have shown that transforming DNA is captured by pili in Bacillus subtilis . The pili then retract, bringing the DNA to the cell body and presumably into the space between the cell wall and the membrane. They have also proven that DNA attachment and pilus retraction occur on lateral surfaces of the rod-shaped bacilli, not exclusively at the poles of the cell.