Habitat and Morphology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Habitat of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

1. Human is only the natural host.
2. Found in human urogenital tract.
3. Rectal carriage in healthy individuals.
4. Typically seen in pus cells (intracellular)
5. Found intracellularly in polymorphonuclear leukocytes, or a specific category of white blood cells with varying shapes of nuclei.

Morphology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

1. Gram –ve cocci
2. Shape is spherical
3. Coffee bean shaped diplococcic
4. Diameter: 0.6 to 1 um
5. Usually seen in pairs with adjacent sides flattened
6. LPS has highly branched basal oligosaccharide structure
7. Contains fimbriae
8. Possess pili on the surface
9. Motile (Twitching motility)
10. Non-capsulated
11. Non-sporing

Genome of Neisseria gonorrhoeae

1. Circular DNA genome
2. 2069 Genes
3. 67 Structural RNA’s
4. Genome Length: 2,153,922 nt
5. Protein encoding genes: 2002
6. G+C Content: 52.4%
7. Have surface protein called Opa protein.

Habitat and Morphology of Neisseria gonorrhoeae