<i>NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE</i> I

TLDR

Neisseria gonorrhoeae virulence is genetically linked to clonal variation, as demonstrated by a 1963 study in which selective in vitro passages of a purulent exudate strain maintained infectivity in human volunteers, whereas nonselective passages lost this ability. The study compares physiological and serological characteristics of clonal types to enable investigation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in its virulent form.

Abstract

Kellogg, Douglas S., Jr. (Communicable Disease Center, Atlanta, Ga.), William L. Peacock, Jr., W. E. Deacon, L. Brown, and Carl I. Pirkle . Neisseria gonorrhoeae . I. Virulence genetically linked to clonal variation. J. Bacteriol. 85: 1274–1279. 1963.—One type, obtained from the purulent exudate of acute gonorrhea was maintained by 69 selective in vitro passages, at which point the organisms produced infections in human volunteers. A predominance of clonal types found in laboratory strains and a lack of ability to infect human volunteers resulted from 69 nonselective in vitro passages. Physiological and serological characteristics of the clonal types are compared. We are now in a position to study Neisseria gonorrhoeae organisms in their virulent form.