Pseudomonas aeruginosa and cystic fibrosis: unusual bacterial adaptation and pathogenesis.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an adaptable, saprophytic bacterium with the potential to cause a variety of opportunistic infections in compromised hosts. In patients with cystic fibrosis, chronic pulmonary colonization with mucoid alginate-producing mutants of P. aeruginosa is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and is an interesting example of microbial adaptation and host-bacterium interaction.