Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1984 Jan;19(1):63–67. doi: 10.1128/jcm.19.1.63-67.1984

Characterization of Neisseria cinerea, a nonpathogenic species isolated on Martin-Lewis medium selective for pathogenic Neisseria spp.

J S Knapp, P A Totten, M H Mulks, B H Minshew
PMCID: PMC270980  PMID: 6361062

Abstract

An asaccharolytic, gram-negative, oxidase-positive diplococcus was isolated on Martin-Lewis medium from the cervix of a patient attending an arthritis clinic at Seattle Public Health Hospital, Seattle, Wash. This strain, NRL 32165, did not produce detectable acid from glucose, maltose, sucrose, fructose, mannitol, or lactose in either cystine Trypticase agar (BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, Md.) or modified oxidation-fermentation medium and was identified presumptively as a glucose-negative Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain, but was identified later as Neisseria cinerea on the basis of its biochemical reactions. Nitrate was not reduced, nitrite (0.001%, wt/vol) was reduced, and polysaccharide was not produced from sucrose. Proline, arginine, and cystine-cysteine were required for growth on defined medium. Strain NRL 32165 did not react with antigonococcal protein I monoclonal antibodies and did not produce immunoglobulin A protease. In DNA:DNA homology studies with N. gonorrhoeae NRL 8038 (F62) and N. cinerea type strain NRL 30003, strain NRL 32165 showed 95% homology relative to N. cinerea and 44% homology relative to N. gonorrhoeae. Thus, the identity of strain NRL 32165 was confirmed as N. cinerea (von Lingelsheim 1906) Murray 1939. Of all Neisseria spp., N. cinerea is most likely to be misidentified as a glucose-negative N. gonorrhoeae strain.

Full text

PDF
63

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BERGER U., PAEPCKE E. [Studies on asaccharolytic Neisseria in the human nasopharynx]. Z Hyg Infektionskr. 1962;148:269–281. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brenner D. J., McWhorter A. C., Knutson J. K., Steigerwalt A. G. Escherichia vulneris: a new species of Enterobacteriaceae associated with human wounds. J Clin Microbiol. 1982 Jun;15(6):1133–1140. doi: 10.1128/jcm.15.6.1133-1140.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Catlin B. W. Nutritional profiles of Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Neisseria lactamica in chemically defined media and the use of growth requirements for gonococcal typing. J Infect Dis. 1973 Aug;128(2):178–194. doi: 10.1093/infdis/128.2.178. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Crosa J. H., Brenner D. J., Falkow S. Use of a single-strand specific nuclease for analysis of bacterial and plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid homo- and heteroduplexes. J Bacteriol. 1973 Sep;115(3):904–911. doi: 10.1128/jb.115.3.904-911.1973. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Futrovsky S. L., Gaydos C. A., Keiser J. Comparison of the Phadebact Gonococcus Test with the rapid fermentation method. J Clin Microbiol. 1981 Jul;14(1):89–93. doi: 10.1128/jcm.14.1.89-93.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hall W. H., Schierl E. A., Maccani J. E. Comparative susceptibility of penicillinase-positive and -negative Neisseria gonorrhoeae to 30 antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1979 Apr;15(4):562–567. doi: 10.1128/aac.15.4.562. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Jantzen E., Bryn K., Bergan T., Bovre K. Gas chromatography of bacterial whole cell methanolysates; V. Fatty acid composition of Neisseriae and Moraxellae. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B Microbiol Immunol. 1974 Dec;82(6):767–779. doi: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1974.tb02374.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jantzen E., Bryn K., Bovre K. Gas chromatography of bacterial whole cell methanolysates; IV. A procedure for fractionation and identification of fatty acids and monosaccharides of cellular structures. Acta Pathol Microbiol Scand B Microbiol Immunol. 1974 Dec;82(6):753–766. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Knapp J. S., Holmes K. K. Disseminated gonococcal infections caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae with unique nutritional requirements. J Infect Dis. 1975 Aug;132(2):204–208. doi: 10.1093/infdis/132.2.204. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Knapp J. S., Holmes K. K. Modified oxidation-fermentation medium for detection of acid production from carbohydrates by Neisseria spp. and Branhamella catarrhalis. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 Jul;18(1):56–62. doi: 10.1128/jcm.18.1.56-62.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Laemmli U. K. Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of bacteriophage T4. Nature. 1970 Aug 15;227(5259):680–685. doi: 10.1038/227680a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maniatis T., Jeffrey A., Kleid D. G. Nucleotide sequence of the rightward operator of phage lambda. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Mar;72(3):1184–1188. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.3.1184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Mayer L. W., Holmes K. K., Falkow S. Characterization of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid from Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Infect Immun. 1974 Oct;10(4):712–717. doi: 10.1128/iai.10.4.712-717.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Morello J. A., Lerner S. A., Bohnhoff M. Characteristics of atypical Neisseria gonorrhoeae from disseminated and localized infections. Infect Immun. 1976 May;13(5):1510–1516. doi: 10.1128/iai.13.5.1510-1516.1976. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Mulks M. H., Kornfeld S. J., Plaut A. G. Specific proteolysis of human IgA by Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. J Infect Dis. 1980 Apr;141(4):450–456. doi: 10.1093/infdis/141.4.450. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Mulks M. H., Plaut A. G. IgA protease production as a characteristic distinguishing pathogenic from harmless neisseriaceae. N Engl J Med. 1978 Nov 2;299(18):973–976. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197811022991802. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Ng W. S., Anton P., Arnold K. Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains isolated in Hong Kong: in vitro susceptibility to 13 antibiotics. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 1981 Jan;19(1):12–17. doi: 10.1128/aac.19.1.12. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Nowinski R. C., Tam M. R., Goldstein L. C., Stong L., Kuo C. C., Corey L., Stamm W. E., Handsfield H. H., Knapp J. S., Holmes K. K. Monoclonal antibodies for diagnosis of infectious diseases in humans. Science. 1983 Feb 11;219(4585):637–644. doi: 10.1126/science.6297006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. PRENTICE A. W. Neisseria flavescens as a cause of meningitis. Lancet. 1957 Mar 23;272(6969):613–614. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(57)91072-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Piot P., van Dyck E., Goodfellow M., Falkow S. A taxonomic study of Gardnerella vaginalis (Haemophilus vaginalis) Gardner and Dukes 1955. J Gen Microbiol. 1980 Aug;119(2):373–396. doi: 10.1099/00221287-119-2-373. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Tam M. R., Buchanan T. M., Sandström E. G., Holmes K. K., Knapp J. S., Siadak A. W., Nowinski R. C. Serological classification of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with monoclonal antibodies. Infect Immun. 1982 Jun;36(3):1042–1053. doi: 10.1128/iai.36.3.1042-1053.1982. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. WAX L. The identity of Neisseria other than the gonococcus isolated from the genito-urinary tract. J Vener Dis Inf. 1950 Aug;31(8):208–213. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. WHITE L. A., KELLOGG D. S., Jr NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE IDENTIFICATION IN DIRECT SMEARS BY A FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY-COUNTERSTAIN METHOD. Appl Microbiol. 1965 Mar;13:171–174. doi: 10.1128/am.13.2.171-174.1965. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. WILKINSON A. E. Occurrence of neisseria other than the gonococcus in the genital tract. Br J Vener Dis. 1952 Mar;28(1):24–27. doi: 10.1136/sti.28.1.24. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES