Growth, toxigenicity and virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

The virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa appears to depend on both its ability to grow in the serum of animals and its ability to produce various types of extra-cellular toxins. No strain of Ps. aeruginosa lacking either of these qualifications was ever found to be virulent to animals. The ability of various sera of animals to inhibit growth of Ps. aeruginosa appears to depend largely on their content of specific antibodies to each serological type of the surface antigens (the slime layer) and, therefore, susceptibility of animals to the infections of Ps. aeruginosa, even within one species, varies considerably from one individual to another. This work was supported by a research career development award of the U.S. Public Health Service to the senior author (GM-K315). © 1963, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.