Editing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (section)

== Microbiology ==
[[File:Neisseria gonorrhoeae with pus cells.jpg|thumb|A Gram stain of a urethral exudate showing typical intracellular Gram-negative diplococci, which is diagnostic for gonococcal urethritis<ref name="pmid33929174">{{cite journal |vauthors=Sell J, Nasir M, Courchesne C |title=Urethritis: Rapid Evidence Review |journal=American Family Physician |volume=103 |issue=9 |pages=553–558 |date=May 2021 |pmid=33929174 |doi= |url=}}</ref>]]
''[[Neisseria]]'' species are [[fastidious]], Gram-negative cocci (though some species are rod-shaped and occur in pairs or short chains) that require nutrient supplementation to grow in laboratory cultures.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/b978-0-323-04579-7.00168-4 |chapter=Neisseria |title=Infectious Diseases |date=2010 |pages=1676–1689 |isbn=978-0-323-04579-7 | vauthors = Van Putten J, Tønjum T }}</ref> They are facultative intracellular pathogens, meaning they are able to persist and colonize within host cells but can also multiply outside  the host cellular environment.<ref name="Green_2022" /><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Silva MT | title = Classical labeling of bacterial pathogens according to their lifestyle in the host: inconsistencies and alternatives | journal = Frontiers in Microbiology | volume = 3 | pages = 71 | date = 2012 | pmid = 22393329 | pmc = 3289908 | doi = 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00071 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Yeshanew_2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yeshanew AG, Geremew RA | title = Neisseria Gonorrhoae and their antimicrobial susceptibility patterns among symptomatic patients from Gondar town, north West Ethiopia | journal = Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = 85 | date = 2018-07-17 | pmid = 30026943 | pmc = 6050735 | doi = 10.1186/s13756-018-0376-3 | doi-access = free }}</ref> They typically appear in pairs (diplococci), resembling the shape of coffee beans.<ref name="Yeshanew_2018" /> Members of this genus do not form endospores and are nonmotile, with the exception of pathogenic species, which capable of moving using [[twitching motility]];<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/B978-0-7020-6285-8.00179-9 |quote=Endospores and exotoxins are not found and flagella are absent. Some Neisseria spp., including N. gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis, may show surface-bound twitching motility due to pilus retraction. |chapter=Neisseria |title=Infectious Diseases |date=2017 |pages=1553–1564.e1 |isbn=978-0-7020-6285-8 | vauthors = Tønjum T, Van Putten J }}</ref> most are also [[obligate aerobe]]s.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/b978-012304220-0/50013-3 |chapter=Neisseria |title=Principles of Bacterial Pathogenesis |date=2001 |pages=559–618 |isbn=978-0-12-304220-0 | vauthors = Gray-Owen SD, Dehio C, Rudel T, Naumann M, Meyer TF }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Eriksson J, Eriksson OS, Maudsdotter L, Palm O, Engman J, Sarkissian T, Aro H, Wallin M, Jonsson AB | title = Characterization of motility and piliation in pathogenic Neisseria | journal = BMC Microbiology | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 92 | date = April 2015 | pmid = 25925502 | pmc = 4449605 | doi = 10.1186/s12866-015-0424-6 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Of the 17 species that colonize humans, only two are pathogenic: ''N. gonorrhoeae,'' which causes gonorrhea, and ''[[Neisseria meningitidis|N. meningitidis]]'', a leading cause of [[bacterial meningitis]].<ref name="pmid32534649">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ladhani SN, Lucidarme J, Parikh SR, Campbell H, Borrow R, Ramsay ME | title = Meningococcal disease and sexual transmission: urogenital and anorectal infections and invasive disease due to Neisseria meningitidis | journal = Lancet | volume = 395 | issue = 10240 | pages = 1865–1877 | date = June 2020 | pmid = 32534649 | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30913-2 | s2cid = 219701418 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Principles of bacterial pathogenesis |date=2001 |publisher=Academic Press |isbn=978-0-12-304220-0 | veditors = Groisman EA |location=San Diego, Calif}}</ref>

=== Culture and identification ===
[[File:Neisseria gonorrhoeae 01.png|thumb|Thayer–Martin agar is selective for growth of ''Neisseria'' species. Further testing (oxidase, carbohydrate use and pcr) can be used to differentiate ''N. gonorrhoeae'' from ''N. meningitidis.q'']]
''N. gonorrhoeae'' can be isolated on [[Thayer–Martin agar]] (or VPN) agar in an atmosphere enriched with 3-7% carbon dioxide.<ref name="Ng_2005" /> Thayer–Martin agar is a chocolate [[agar plate]] (heated blood agar) containing nutrients and [[antibiotic|antimicrobial]]s ([[vancomycin]], [[colistin]], [[nystatin]], and [[trimethoprim]]). This agar preparation facilitates the growth of ''Neisseria'' species while inhibiting the growth of contaminating bacteria and fungi. Martin Lewis and [[New York City agar]] are other types of selective chocolate agar commonly used for ''Neisseria'' growth.<ref name="Ng_2005" /> ''N. gonorrhoeae'' is [[Oxidase test|oxidase]] positive (possessing cytochrome c oxidase) and [[catalase]] positive (able to convert hydrogen peroxide to oxygen).<ref name="Ng_2005" /> When incubated with the carbohydrates lactose, [[maltose]], [[sucrose]], and [[glucose]], ''N. gonorrhoeae'' will oxidize only the glucose.<ref name="Ng_2005" />