Question

Scientists are concerned that bacteria will be resistant to all antibiotics within the next decade. Using your knowledge of conjugation in bacteria, describe how bacterial populations can develop drug resistance in such a short time frame.

Answer 1

Bacterial populations can develop drug resistance in a short time by self –transferable plasmids. Few of them carries antibiotic resistance genes for metabolic functions. The overdose of antibiotics for people with a cold increases the killing of the healthy bacteria.

Explanation:

Bacteria can develop resistance in the following ways.

Mutation: By cell replication, some bacteria develop mutations that makes them resistant to antibiotics. Bacteria with the resistant mutation can survive against antibiotics. These resistant bacteria continue to multiply  even when they are exposed to antibiotics

Horizontal Gene Transfer: Antibiotic-resistant genetic material is transferred between different bacteria cells in three different ways: transformation, transduction or conjugation.

• The process in which bacteria takes the genetic materials from the environment is transformation.

• The introduction of foreign DNA/ RNA into the bacterial cell is transduction .

• In conjugation the genetic material is transferred from the donor bacteria to the recipient by direct contact.