what are antibiotics?
Antibiotics are chemicals produced by microbes that either kill (bactericidal) or inhibit the growth (bacteriostatic) of bacteria
Key Terms
what are antibiotics?
Antibiotics are chemicals produced by microbes that either kill (bactericidal) or inhibit the growth (bacteriostatic) of bacteria
what are antibiotics used to treat?
Antibiotics are commonly used by man as a treatment for bacterial infections (not effective against viral infections)
How may antibiotic resistance arise in a bacterial colony?
In a bacterial colony, over many generations, a small proportion of bacteria may develop antibiotic resistance via gene mutation
What causes the gene for antibiotic resistance to be passed down?
When treated with antibiotics, the resistant bacteria will survive and reproduce by binary fission (asexual reproduction)
What causes a decrease in competition?
The antibiotic resistant bacteria will flourish in the absence of competition from other strains of bacteria (killed by antibiotic)
What process apart from reproduction can pass on the gene for antibiotic resistance?
Antibiotic resistant bacteria may also confer resistance to susceptible strains by transferring plasmids via bacterial conjugation
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| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
what are antibiotics? | Antibiotics are chemicals produced by microbes that either kill (bactericidal) or inhibit the growth (bacteriostatic) of bacteria |
what are antibiotics used to treat? | Antibiotics are commonly used by man as a treatment for bacterial infections (not effective against viral infections) |
How may antibiotic resistance arise in a bacterial colony? | In a bacterial colony, over many generations, a small proportion of bacteria may develop antibiotic resistance via gene mutation |
What causes the gene for antibiotic resistance to be passed down? | When treated with antibiotics, the resistant bacteria will survive and reproduce by binary fission (asexual reproduction) |
What causes a decrease in competition? | The antibiotic resistant bacteria will flourish in the absence of competition from other strains of bacteria (killed by antibiotic) |
What process apart from reproduction can pass on the gene for antibiotic resistance? | Antibiotic resistant bacteria may also confer resistance to susceptible strains by transferring plasmids via bacterial conjugation |
What has caused the gene to increase in frequency? | The introduction of antibiotic (selection pressure) has caused the antibiotic resistance gene to become more frequent (evolution) |
What is an example of an increase in antibiotic resistance? | An example of antibiotic resistance in bacteria can be seen in the evolution of Staphylococcus aureus (Golden staph) |
What can golden staph cause? | Golden staph can cause infections to the skin (lesions and boils) as well as more serious infections (pneumonia, meningitis) |
Historically, how was golden staph treated? | Historically, these infections were treated using the antibiotic methicillin |
What is the name of bacteria resistant to methicillin? | Bacterial strains developed that were resistant to this antibiotic (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus – or MRSA) |
How did MRSA strains increase? | These strains proliferated while susceptible strains died out (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus – or MSSA) |
Where are MRSA infections most common? | MRSA infections are now especially present in hospitals and nursing homes, where the use of methicillin was most common |
What is the solution to golden staph? | Medical practitioners now prescribe alternate antibiotic agents to treat infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus |