Explain why Pseudomonas aeruginosa is described as a "medical puzzle."
What will be an ideal response?
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is described as a medical puzzle because it rarely causes disease, although it has almost unlimited pathogenic potential. P. aeruginosa possesses a wide variety of virulence factors that alone could make it an effective pathogen. These factors include various attachment mechanisms such as fimbriae and a capsule, and a variety of toxins and enzymes that kill host cells and defeat body defenses such as IgA and IgG antibodies. A second aspect of P. aeruginosa's potential for pathogenesis is its ubiquity. Due to its ability to utilize a wide variety of carbon and nitrogen sources, P. aeruginosa is found in habitats as diverse as soil, hot tubs, and humidifiers. It has even been found growing in distilled water. A third aspect of the organism's virulence is its extreme resistance to all kinds of antimicrobial drugs, which makes treatment of Pseudomonas infections especially challenging. The only reason Pseudomonas infections are as rare as they are is due to the organism's inability to breach the skin or its natural defenses; therefore, it is limited to a role as an opportunistic pathogen that causes only 10% of nosocomial infections, and then only when the skin is already damaged or compromised in some way.
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
Section: Bacterial Diseases of the Skin and Wounds
Learning Outcome: 19.17
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Which of the following does accurately describe the Lineweaver—Burk plot?
A) It is a double-reciprocal plot. B) The y intercept is equal to 1/Vmax. C) The x intercept is -1/Km. D) It is a linear plot. E) Its slope is the same as the Eadie—Hofstee plot.
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What will be an ideal response?
Eukaryotic transcription factors:a
are known as CAPs. b. may be activators or repressors of transcription. c. are inducers. d. are corepressors. e. are also known as enhancers.