Neisseria meningitidis

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Classification

Kingdom: Bacteria

Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Beta Proteobacteria

Order: Neisseriales

Family: Neisseriaceae

Genus: Neisseria

Species: N. meningitidis

Binomial Name

Neisseria meningitis

Description and significance

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Genome structure

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Cell structure and metabolism

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Ecology

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Pathology

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There are approximately 12 strains of Neisseria meningiditis, which are grouped on the basis of their capsular polysaccharides, that have been identified. Among these known strains, serogroups A, B, and C have been found to be those responsible for 90% of meningococcal meningitis cases. Specifically, serogroup A has been implicated in meningitis epidemics in developing countries, while serogroups B and C have been implicated in meningitis epidemics in already developed countries.

Neisseria meningitidis is only found in human hosts of which 5-15% of the population are carriers. Specifically, the bacterium can found in the nasopharyngeal tract, in its non-pathogenic form. Transformation from it's initial state to its pathogenic form arises when Neisseria meningitidis bacterium cross the mucosal barrier and enter the blood stream. Once in the blood stream they are free to travel to the cerebral spinal fluid or the meninges, tissues that surround the brain and spinal cord. Accordingly, this infection of the meninges results in bacterial meningitis, which mainly affects adults, and should not be confuserd with viral meningitis which affects babies and young children.

Application to Biotechnology

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Current Research

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References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neisseria_meningitidis http://www.brown.edu/Courses/Bio_160/Projects1999/bmenin/nmenin.html http://www.sanger.ac.uk/Projects/N_meningitidis