= Neisseria
{c}
<Neisseria> is a genus of <bacteria> containing both disease-associated <species> and <species> that commonly inhabit human mucosal surfaces without causing the corresponding disease. <Neisseria gonorrhoeae> is one pathogenic member; the behaviour of one <species> should not be assigned automatically to the entire genus.
Comparative <genome> sequencing found substantial sharing of genetic variants between human-associated commensal and pathogenic <Neisseria>. <Genome Sequencing Reveals Widespread Virulence Gene Exchange among Human Neisseria Species by Pradeep Reddy Marri and others>[2010, abstract and genome comparisons: commensal species and extensive genetic exchange]{ref} This makes the genus useful for studying how a shared genetic background interacts with <host> association. Possession of a <gene> associated with disease in another <strain> does not by itself establish that its new <host> has the same disease-causing <phenotype>.
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