Bacterial pathogens vary markedly from species to species in their capacity to cause different types of infection. A recent study by Penaranda and colleagues in mSystems shows that the genetic backgrounds of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates do not dictate whether they infect the lungs, blood, urine, or other body sites (C. Penaranda, E. P. Brenner, A. E. Clatworthy, L. A. Cosimi, et al., mSystems 11:e01362-25, 2026, https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.01362-25). These findings suggest that each P. aeruginosa strain is versatile and has the potential to infect a variety of tissues and organs.
Alan R. Hauser (Mon,) studied this question.