Which statement describes the intracellular lifestyle of C. burnetii?

Which statement describes the intracellular lifestyle of C. burnetii?

• A. It is strictly extracellular
• B. It is a facultative intracellular organism
• C. It is an obligate intracellular bacterium
• D. It does not survive inside host cells

Answer: (B)

Coxiella burnetii displays a flexible intracellular lifestyle: it replicates inside host cells, typically within phagolysosomes, but it can also survive and be grown outside cells in specialized, cell-free media. This combination makes it best described as facultative intracellular. It isn’t strictly extracellular, because it actively multiplies inside cells; it isn’t obligate intracellular because lab setups allow growth outside cells as well. It also isn’t true that it cannot survive inside host cells. The organism’s development includes forms that are adapted for extracellular survival and others that are geared toward intracellular replication, underscoring its dual nature.

Coxiella burnetii displays a flexible intracellular lifestyle: it replicates inside host cells, typically within phagolysosomes, but it can also survive and be grown outside cells in specialized, cell-free media. This combination makes it best described as facultative intracellular. It isn’t strictly extracellular, because it actively multiplies inside cells; it isn’t obligate intracellular because lab setups allow growth outside cells as well. It also isn’t true that it cannot survive inside host cells. The organism’s development includes forms that are adapted for extracellular survival and others that are geared toward intracellular replication, underscoring its dual nature.