Environmental Sensory Signals and Microbial Pathogenesis: Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infection in Cystic Fibrosis

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces the exo–polysaccharide alginate almost exclusively in association with pulmonary infection in cystic fibrosis (CF). Transcriptional activation of the P. aeruginosa alginate genes appears to be affected by the growth environment. Two regulatory genes have been implicated in this environmental activation, one of which produces a gene product having significant amino acid homology with a class of regulatory proteins responsive to environmental stimuli. Understanding the mechanisms of environmental activation of the alginate genes in P. aeruginosa may lead to the development of novel treatment strategies for the eradication of this organism from the lungs of the CF patient.