N. gonorrhoeae is usually isolated on Thayer-Martin agar (or VPN) agar in an environment enriched with 3-7% carbon dioxide. Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also known as gonococci (plural), or gonococcus (singular), is a species of Gram-negative coffee bean-shaped diplococci bacteria responsible for the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea. N. gonorrhoeae was first described by Albert Neisser in 1879.