Microbe Profile: Pseudomonas aeruginosa: opportunistic pathogen and lab rat

Microbiology (Reading). 2020 Jan;166(1):30-33. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.000860.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen and a model bacterium for studying virulence and bacterial social traits. While it can be isolated in low numbers from a wide variety of environments including soil and water, it can readily be found in almost any human/animal-impacted environment. It is a major cause of illness and death in humans with immunosuppressive and chronic conditions, and infections in these patients are difficult to treat due to a number of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and the organism's propensity to form multicellular biofilms.

Keywords: Genomics; Physiology; Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biofilms / growth & development
  • Biological Evolution
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial
  • Genome, Bacterial / genetics
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • Pseudomonas Infections / microbiology*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / classification
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / genetics
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / pathogenicity*
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / physiology*
  • Virulence