COMPARISON OF SOME PROPERTIES OF PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA ISOLATED FROM INFECTIONS IN PERSONS WITH AND WITHOUT CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from the respiratory tract of a group of patients diagnosed as having cystic fibrosis (CF) of the pancreas, attained the ability to produce in its capsule a material which was insoluble in certain organic solvents, such as ethanol. The capsule obtained from P. aeruginosa isolated from infected individuals who did not have CF was ethanol-soluble. This alcohol-insoluble mucoid from the CF P. aeruginosa could be demonstrated to persist after sequential subcultures of this organism. The relative viscosity and carbohydrate moiety of this insoluble mucoid fraction of P. aeruginosa from individuals with CF differed from that of the non-CF P. aeruginosa soluble mucoid fraction.