[Biological properties of melanin (Pseudomonas aeruginosa)].

Melanin synthetized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been found to protect these bacteria from hyper- and hypoxia, as well as from the lethal action of ultraviolet radiation. The author believes that melanin-synthetizing P. aeruginosa strains are more dangerous in hospitals than P. aeruginosa strains incapable of synthesizing this pigment.