Question

Penicillin’s mode of action is to inhibit Choose one: A. cell wall cross-link formation. B. DNA replication by allosterically binding to DNA polymerase. C. translation by binding to the 50S ribosomal subunit. D. translation by binding to the 30S ribosomal subunit.

Answer 1

Answer:

A. cell wall cross-link formation.

Explanation:

The bacterial cell wall has peptidoglycan which is a heteropolymer of two different monomers. These are  N -acetylmuramic acid and N -acetylglucosamine. Peptide cross-links formed by the enzyme transpeptidase join the chains of these monomers together to make multiple layers of the cell wall. Penicillin is an antibiotic that does not allow the enzyme " transpeptidase" to form the cross-linked. The bacteria treated with penicillin lyse in a hypotonic solution.