 Neisseria gonorrhoeae

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the bacterium causing gonorrhoea, an infection of mucosal surfaces that can also produce complications beyond the original site. Some infections cause few recognizable symptoms, so symptom frequency and infection frequency need not coincide. ^[ref]

It belongs to Neisseria, a genus that also includes human-associated commensal species. Shared ancestry therefore does not mean identical interactions with a host. Comparing genomes across the genus reveals genetic exchange, but the clinical behaviour of a strain depends on the organization and regulation of its genome as well as on host and tissue context. The disease name identifies a clinical entity; the species name identifies an organism.