Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) image depicted four views of Gram-negative Neisseria gonorrhoeae bacteria. Details of the protective, adhesive matrix, which this colony had secreted is revealed. This molecular matrix consists of polymeric constituents known as the extracellular polymeric substance, or EPS. Typically, these cocci appear as paired diplococci, which have been outlined in colour. N. gonorrhoeae strains may infect the mucosal surfaces of urogenital sites (cervix, urethra, rectum) and the oro- and nasopharynx (throat), causing symptomatic or asymptomatic infections. Gonococcal infections of the urogenital sites are more frequently symptomatic than asymptomatic, however, asymptomatic infections may occur. Gonococcal infections of the oro- and nasopharynx and the rectum may be asymptomatic more frequently than symptomatic. |