Neisseria
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 Fluorescent antibody stain of Neisseria gonorrhoeae.
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Neisseria is a genus of bacteria, included among the proteobacteria, a large group of Gram-negative forms. Neisseria are diplococci which resemble coffee beans when viewed microscopicaly.[1] The genus includes the species N. gonorrhoeae (also called the gonococcus), which causes gonorrhoea, and N. meningitidis (also called the meningococcus), one of the most common causes of bacterial meningitis, and the causative agent of meningococcal septicaemia.
This genus also contains several, believed to be nonpathogenic species, like:
- Neisseria cinerea
- Neisseria elongata
- Neisseria flavescens
- Neisseria lactamica
- Neisseria mucosa
- Neisseria polysaccharea
- Neisseria sicca
- Neisseria subflava
[edit] History
The genus Neisseria is named after the German bacteriologist Albert Neisser, who discovered its first example, Neisseria gonorrheae, the pathogen which causes the human disease gonorrhea. Neisser also co-discovered the pathogen that causes leprosy, Mycobacterium leprae. These discoveries were made possible by the development of new staining techniques which he helped to develop.
[edit] References
- ^ Ryan KJ; Ray CG (editors) (2004). Sherris Medical Microbiology, 4th ed., McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-8385-8529-9.
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