What is the Difference Between Neisseria and Moraxella

Thekey difference between Neisseria and Moraxellais thatNeisseriais a genus that belongs to the class ofbeta proteobacteriawhileMoraxellais a genus that belongs to the class ofgamma proteobacteria.

Proteobacteria is a major phylum comprised ofgram-negative bacteria. This phylum consists of a wide variety of pathogenic genera such asEscherichia,Salmonella,Vibrio,Helicobacter,Neisseria,Yersinia,Legionella, etc. Others in this phylum are free-living non-parasitic bacteria. Many of the bacteria in this phylum can also fix atmospheric N₂. Carl Woese established this group in 1987. There are nine classes of proteobacteria based on theribosomal RNA (rRNA)sequences: alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, etc.NeisseriaandMoraxellaare two types of proteobacteria that belong to the phylum proteobacteria.

CONTENTS

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Neisseria
3.What is Moraxella
4.Similarities – Neisseria and Moraxella
5.Neisseria vs Moraxella in Tabular Form
6.Summary – Neisseria vs Moraxella

What is Neisseria?

Neisseria is a large genus that belongs to beta proteobacteria. Generally, Neisseria colonizes in the mucosal surfaces of many animals. Out of the 11 species that colonize in humans, only two are pathogenic bacteria:N. meningitidisandN. gonorrhoeae. However, most gonococcal infections are asymptomatic and self-resolving.Neisseriaspecies are gram-negative bacteria. They are also diplococci that resemble coffee bean shapes when viewing under the microscope. Moreover,Neisseriaspecies are catalase and oxidative positive in biochemical testing.

Neisseriaspecies normally grow in pairs but occasionally can be tetrads. They thrive best at 98.6⁰F in the animal body or serum culture.N. meningitidiscauses meningitidis and septicaemia, whileN. gonorrhoeaecauses gonorrhoea. These two species have the ability to breach the important barriers in the human body. Furthermore, these species avoid most of the defence mechanisms, such as neutrophils, phagocytosis, and the complement system.Neisseriaspecies also show antigenic variation by altering their antigens. In addition, they have type IV pili which have various functions such as attachment, twitching motility, microcolony formation, antigenic variation, etc. This genus also has some commensal or non-pathogenic species:N. bacilliformis,N. cinerea,n elongata,N. flavescens, etc.

What is Moraxella?

Moraxella is a genus that belongs to the class of gammaproteobacteria. They are gram-negative bacteria. They belong to the family of Moraxellaceae. This bacterium is named after Swiss ophthalmologist Victor Morax. Moraxella species can be short rods, coccobacilli or diplococci. These species are normally asaccharolytic, oxidase-positive and catalase-positive.M. catarrhalisis the most clinically important species under this genus.Moraxellais a commensal of mucosal surfaces. But sometimes, these species give rise to opportunistic infections.

M. catarrhalisusually resides in the upper respiratory tract. But it can gain access to the lower respiratory tract in patients with chronic chest disease. Hence, this causes pneumonia. Moreover,M. lacunatacauses blepharoconjunctivitis in humans andM. boviscauses infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis in cattle.

What are the Similarities Between Neisseria and Moraxella?

• NeisseriaandMoraxellaare two genera of proteobacteria.
• Both are gram negative.
• They are diplococci.
• 都是严格的需氧菌。
• They are catalase positive and oxidative positive.
• Both genera have pathogenic and non-pathogenic species.

What is the Difference Between Neisseria and Moraxella?

Neisseriais a genus that belongs to the class of beta proteobacteria while,Moraxellais a genus that belongs to the class of gamma proteobacteria. So, this is the key difference between neisseria and moraxella. Furthermore,Neisseriais amonophyletic genus, whileMoraxellais aparaphyletic genus.

The below infographic lists the differences between neisseria and moraxella in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Neisseria vs Moraxella

Proteobacteria is a major phylum of gram negative bacteria.NeisseriaandMoraxellaare two genera of proteobacteria.Neisseriais a genus that belongs to the class of beta proteobacteria.Moraxellais a genus that belongs to the class of gamma proteobacteria. Thus, this is the key difference between neisseria and moraxella.

Reference:

1. “Neisseria”。一个Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
2. “Moraxella”。一个Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Neisseria gonorrhoeae with pus cells” By Dr Graham Beards – Own work(CC BY-SA 4.0)via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Moraxella Catarrhalis” ByCDC/Dr. W.A. Clark– (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia