Neisseria
| Neisseria | ||||||||||||
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Neisseria gonorrhoeae |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Neisseria | ||||||||||||
| Trevisan 1885 | ||||||||||||
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The bacteria of the genus Neisseria are a group of Gram-negative bacteria of the Neisseriaceae family . They were named after the bacteriologist Albert Neisser , who discovered the pathogen causing gonorrhea , Neisseria gonorrhoeae . The Neisseria species occur as diplococci , i.e. as pairs of spherical bacterial cells; among them are four types of particular medical relevance.
Medically significant species
Neisseria gonorrhoeae
The bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae , also known as gonococci, are the causative agents of gonorrhea (also known as gonorrhea ), one of the most well-known diseases from the group of sexually transmitted diseases .
Neisseria meningitidis
Neisseria meningitidis is one of the most common pathogens causing purulent meningitis . The bacteria, also known as meningococci, usually live in the nasal and throat areas of humans, although the number of bacteria is usually relatively high. It is transmitted by droplet infection and the bacteria are usually very susceptible to antibiotic treatments. The genome of this bacterium has been sequenced since 2001.
Neisseria flavescens
Neisseria flavescens is particularly noticeable because of the golden yellow color of the colonies. The bacteria live in the mucous membranes of the upper airways. Their role as a pathogen has not yet been clarified, but they have been found in various types of inflammation.
Neisseria sicca
Neisseria sicca also lives in the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract. The role of these bacteria as pathogens has also not yet been clarified; they may be associated with some cases of meningitis .
literature
- Keywords "Neisseria", "Neisseria flavescens", "Neisseria gonorrhoeae", "Neisseria meningitidis" and "Neisseria sicca" in Pschyrembel Medical Dictionary. 257th edition, Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1993; Page 1044
- N. Noinaj, NC Easley et al. a .: Structural basis for iron piracy by pathogenic Neisseria. In: Nature. Volume 483, Number 7387, March 2012, pp. 53-58, ISSN 1476-4687 . doi : 10.1038 / nature10823 . PMID 22327295 . PMC 3292680 (free full text).
