The Development of L Phase Variants of 'Neisseria meningitidis and their Pathogenicity in Experimental Animals.

Abstract

The frequency of transformation to L forms among 119 isolates of Neisseria meningitidis was found to be greatest in strains of serotype Boshard (Y). Sixty per cent of Boshard isolates showed a rate of transformation of 1 L form/10 to the 6th power diplococci, an incidence characteristic of reverted L form strains. Comparison of isolates from blood, spinal fluid and nasopharynx demonstrated that strains cultured from blood, particularly from patients without meningitis, had the highest potential for L form transformation. L form transformation has been demonstrated among 39 of 45 fresh clinical isolates of N. gonorrhoeae including direct isolation of wall-deficient gonococci from cutaneous lesions. The rate of transformation was much higher than that found for meningococcal strains, with the greatest frequency occurring among cervical isolates. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 18, 1972
Accession Number
AD0744052

Entities

People

  • Josephine A. Morello
  • Marjorie A. Bohnhoff

Organizations

  • University of Chicago

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anatomy
  • Animals
  • Biological Sciences
  • Frequency
  • Laboratory Animals
  • Meningitis
  • Nasopharynx

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Infectious Disease/Epidemiology
  • Microbial Pathology