Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae are differently adapted in the regulation of denitrification: single nucleotide polymorphisms that enable species-specific tuning of the aerobic-anaerobic switch.

The closely related pathogenic Neisseria species N. meningitidis and N. gonorrhoeae are able to respire in the absence of oxygen, using nitrite as an alternative electron acceptor.