Rates in vitro changes of gonococcal colony opacity phenotypes.

The rate of change of colony opacity phenotype was determined for 12 strains of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The average rate of change was about 2 X 10(-3) per colony-forming unit per generation with a range of 0.2 X 10(-3) to 4 X 10(-3) per colony-forming unit per generation. Transition from opaque to transparent occurred at the same rate as transition from transparent to opaque. The following factors were shown to have no effect on the transition rate: (i) the state of piliation; (ii) the number of passages as a particular phenotype; (iii) alteration in the temperature, pH, or amount of oxygen in the atmosphere during growth; (iv) the addition of any of 194 compounds or mixtures to the growth media; (v) the addition of DNase or of DNA from opaque or transparent gonococci; and (vi) incubation between the opacity-transparency transition and the change resulting in the loss of piliation was seen. Some implications of the high transition rate are discussed.