How does an antibiotic act as a selective agent in promoting bacterial resistance?Multiple ChoiceAntibiotics are designed to selectively kill some bacteria while promoting the survival of all others.Exposure to a specific antibiotic causes a mutation that allows the affected bacteria to survive and reproduce, passing the mutation to future generations.Bacteria with a random mutation that allows resistance to that antibiotic are able to survive exposure and reproduce, passing the resistance mutation on to subsequent generations of bacteria.A specific antibiotic selects favorable mutations that promote susceptibility to that antibiotic.
Question
How does an antibiotic act as a selective agent in promoting bacterial resistance?Multiple ChoiceAntibiotics are designed to selectively kill some bacteria while promoting the survival of all others.Exposure to a specific antibiotic causes a mutation that allows the affected bacteria to survive and reproduce, passing the mutation to future generations.Bacteria with a random mutation that allows resistance to that antibiotic are able to survive exposure and reproduce, passing the resistance mutation on to subsequent generations of bacteria.A specific antibiotic selects favorable mutations that promote susceptibility to that antibiotic.
Solution
The correct answer is: Bacteria with a random mutation that allows resistance to that antibiotic are able to survive exposure and reproduce, passing the resistance mutation on to subsequent generations of bacteria.
Here's why: When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, most of the bacteria that are sensitive to the antibiotic will be killed. However, if there are any bacteria present that have a random mutation making them resistant to the antibiotic, they will survive. These resistant bacteria will then reproduce, creating more bacteria with the resistance mutation. Over time, the population of bacteria will become more and more resistant to the antibiotic. This is how antibiotics act as a selective agent in promoting bacterial resistance.
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How does an antibiotic act as a selective agent in promoting bacterial resistance
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In this experiment, the bacteria stopped spreading when they reached an area with a higher concentration of antibiotics. Remember that there are millions of bacteria and that they reproduce very quickly. After a while, a new "mutant" population can be seen fanning out from a single point.Using the concepts from this lesson, explain how this new population with higher antibiotic resistance arises.
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