Question

A scientist discovers that a soil bacterium he has been studying produces an antimicrobial that kills Gram negative bacteria. She isolates and purifies the antimicrobial compound, then chemically converts a chemical side chain to a hydroxyl group. When she tests the antimicrobial properties of this new version, she finds that this antimicrobial drug can now also kill Gram-positive bacteria. The new antimicrobial drug with broad-spectrum activity is considered to be:

Answer 1

The question is incomplete as it does not have the options which are:

resistant

semisynthetic

synthetic

natural

Answer:

Semisynthetic

Explanation:

Antibiotics are the microbial compounds which are obtained from the micro-organisms which are found effective against the bacteria as they act by inhibiting the activity of the bacteria which ultimately kills the bacteria.

These antibiotics can also be distinguished based on their synthesis: natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic antibiotics.

The semi-synthetic antibiotics are the antibiotics which are obtained from the microbes but are modified artificially by making chemical changes to increase the effectiveness of the antibiotic and making the antibiotic as broad-spectrum bacteria.

Since the properties of the antibiotics provided in the question are similar to the semi-synthetic antibiotics, therefore, is considered semi-synthetic bacteria.

Thus, Semisynthetic  is correct.