Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the hundreds of bacteria that colonize the human intestinal tract, usually causing no apparent harm - perhaps even being beneficial to its host. However, once the immune system of the host is weakened by an illness or surgical procedure - P. aeruginosa can cause infection, inflammation, sepsis and death.

Why P. aeruginosa can suddenly turn on its host has eluded researchers - until now. University of Chicago researchers have discovered that lack of an adequate amount of the mineral phosphate can turn a common bacterium into a killer. Their research is to be published in the April 14, 2009, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. The findings could lead to new drugs that would disarm the increasingly antibiotic-resistant pathogen rather than attempting to kill it.

Read more from the official release: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-04/uocm-rcl040809.php