A 35-year old male presents with a history of urethral discharge for the last three days. A gram stain smear of the discharge is shown below. which of the following is true regarding the likely etiology?
Correct Answer: Pili is a virulence factor
Description: The given gram stain shows gram-negative diplococci within the polymorphs which is characteristic of Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection. Neisseria is not an obligate intracellular organism, it can also occur extracellularly i.e facultative intracellular. Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Neisseria meningitides are pathogenic for humans and typically are found inside polymorphonuclear cells. The other Neisseria found as normal inhabitants of the human respiratory tract occur extracellularly. Neisseria gonorrhoeae: Gram-negative Aerobic Non-sporulating Non-motile Oxidase-positive and catalase-positive Arranged in pairs - diplococci Pili act as virulence factors by promoting attachment to host cells and inhibiting phagocytosis. Although Neisseria is a non-motile organism, it shows twitching motility because of type IV pili. Twitching motility is a flagellaindependent form of bacterial translocation over moist surfaces. It occurs by the extension and retraction of polar type IV pili. Reference: Ananthanarayan and Paniker&;s Textbook of Microbiology Tenth edition
Category:
Microbiology
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