Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Basic Research

摘要

Recent research has shed much light on the mechanism of attachment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung and identified the pivotal role of surface adhesion structures such as type IV pili and flagella and their involvement in the establishment of the biofilm mode of growth. Comparative genomic studies utilizing microarray technology have informed the basis of genetic variation of isolates in infections and the environment and identified genes differentially expressed in planktonic and biofilm-grown cells. Four distinct genomic islands and two pathogenicity islands of varying size contain numerous open reading frames, many of unknown function, and further work is necessary to determine their significance to the infectious process. The recent finding of hypermutating P. aeruginosa strains in CF and their relative absence from isolates from other infections suggest that this mechanism may select populations with increased genetic fitness and promote their survival and proliferation in the lung.