The divisome at 25: the road ahead

•The discovery of the FtsZ ring by Bi and Lutkenhaus in 1991 was a defining moment in the field of bacterial cell division.•The past 25 years of research have significantly advanced our understanding of the spatial and temporal regulation of bacterial cell division.•This review highlights the most important outstanding questions in the field, establishing a framework for the next 25 years of research.

The identification of the FtsZ ring by Bi and Lutkenhaus in 1991 was a defining moment for the field of bacterial cell division. Not only did the presence of the FtsZ ring provide fodder for the next 25 years of research, the application of a then cutting-edge approach-immunogold labeling of bacterial cells-inspired other investigators to apply similarly state-of-the-art technologies in their own work. These efforts have led to important advances in our understanding of the factors underlying assembly and maintenance of the division machinery. At the same time, significant questions about the mechanisms coordinating division with cell growth, DNA replication, and chromosome segregation remain. This review addresses the most prominent of these questions, setting the stage for the next 25 years.