Microbe Profile: Pseudomonas aeruginosa: opportunistic pathogen and lab rat

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.

• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: R56HL142857, R01GM116547