Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a bacterial pathogen responsible for gonorrhoea and various sequelae that tend to occur when asymptomatic infection ascends within the genital tract or disseminates to distal tissues. Global rates of gonorrhoea continue to rise, facilitated by the emergence of broad-spectrum antibiotic resistance that has recently afforded the bacteria ‘superbug’ status. N. gonorrhoeae is exquisitely adapted to life in humans, having evolved novel strategies to succeed in their restricted mucosal niche. Gonococci also represent a paradigm for bacterial immune evasion due to its genetically plastic lifestyle and ability to directly suppress otherwise protective adaptive responses, allowing the bacteria to persist within an infected individual and re-infect individuals who have had prior infection. This chapter highlights unique aspects of the gonococcal lifestyle, including consideration of genetic and biochemical processes that allow ongoing antigenic variability and molecular interactions at the host–pathogen interface that contribute to the ongoing success of this globally important pathogen.
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