Question

Bacteria and bacteriophages are undergoing an evolutionary battle. In particular, phages that infect Salmonella enterica can use outer membrane proteins, such as OmpF or TolC, for drug efflux or to attach to the bacterial surface. What would be the impact of a significant mutation of these phage proteins? Choose one: A. The efflux proteins would denature, and Salmonella would become susceptible to drugs and phage infection B. There would be no impact on the rate of phage infection for Salmonella. C. The efflux proteins would denature, but Salmonella would not become susceptible to drugs and phage infection. D. The phage may not be able to bind to Salmonella's s

Answer 1

Answer:

The correct answer to the question: What would be the impact of a significant mutation of these phage proteins? Would be, D: The phage may not be able to bind to Salmonella´s surface, blocking viral infection.

Explanation:

Bateriophages are viruses that are capable of infecting bacterial cells and using them as hosts, until they are destroyed. Just like in the human body, however, these phages depend on the presence of certain characteristics in the bacterial cell membrane to be able to infect its host and inject its genetic material. Science has found that bacteriophages use two ways of infecting a bacterial cell; a tail that is able to pierce certain portions of the membrane, but  certain conditions must be present on the bacteria for such a thing to be possible, and by using certain proteins on the bacterial wall, to connect to it. Due to evolution, bacteria are highly capable of adapting, and some, especially highly resistant strands, have been seen to form mechanisms to resist against phages. One such changes has been in the availability of membrane proteins, such as OmpF and ToIC, which are vital for phage infection of a bacterial cell. These changes in proteins have reduced the capacity of bacteriophages to infect bacteria, such as in this case, Salmonella enterica.