Neisseria meningitidis

This article is currently being developed as part of an Eduzendium student project. If you are not involved with this project, please refrain from collaboratively developing it until this notice is removed. Articles that lack this notice, including many Eduzendium ones, welcome your collaboration!

Classification

Kingdom: Bacteria

Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Beta Proteobacteria

Order: Neisseriales

Family: Neisseriaceae

Genus: Neisseria

Species: N. meningitidis

Binomial Name

Neisseria meningitis

Description and significance

Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why it is important enough to have its genome sequenced. Describe how and where it was isolated. Include a picture or two (with sources) if you can find them.

Genome structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence? Does it have any plasmids? Are they important to the organism's lifestyle?

Cell structure and metabolism

Describe any interesting features and/or cell structures; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

How does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

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

Does this organism produce any useful compounds or enzymes? What are they and how are they used?

Current Research

Enter summaries of the most recent research here--at least three required

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 http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/meningitis-cause