Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Are Present in the Vaginal Compartment with Nonpathogenic

Neisseria gonorrhoeae are present in the vaginal compartment with nonpathogenic commensal Neisseria spp.When the patient's system begins to attack the pathogenic species,some of the cells autolyze releasing their genetic material into the environment.Other Neisseria species are then capable of taking up the DNA from the organisms that have autolyzed altering their genetic makeup and changing their pili protein structure.This process can be described as:

A) competent cells being transformed by genetic recombination.
B) bacteria ingesting DNA and using the information for transcription.
C) mutation of the pathogenic organisms resulting in enhanced infection.
D) transformation and genetic recombination resulting in expression of new pili proteins to evade the immune system.