Question

Medical professionals are concerned with the increase in the number of bacterial species that are resistant to antibiotics. Once resistance appears in a bacterial population, it spreads rapidly. This is most likely because *

Answer 1

Answer:

Resistance bacteria survive in greater numbers and pass the trait to their offspring

Explanation:

Antibiotics are chemicals which are used in the treatment of bacterial infections. The bacteria sometimes have some form of immunity or resistance to a particular antibiotic due to a host of underlying factors.

Once resistance appears in a bacterial population, it spreads rapidly. The trait of immunity or resistance to such antibiotic is then passed as a trait from one generation to another.

Answer 2

Answer: Resistance bacteria survive in greater numbers and pass the trait to their offspring.

Explanation:

Bacteria are one-celled organisms and while most are harmless or actually play a positive role in the body (for example, helping to distribute the nutrients in our diet), some are dangerous and cause disease. They are responsible for many diseases, including most ear infections, strep throat, some sinus infections, and urinary tract infections.

Antibiotics are powerful drugs that fight bacterial infections. Their correct use can save lives. They work by killing bacteria or preventing them from reproducing by destroying the structure of the bacteria or their ability to divide or reproduce.

Some antibacterials (e.g. penicillin, cephalosporin) kill the bacteria absolutely and are called bactericides. They can directly attack the bacterial cell wall, which injures the cell. The bacteria can no longer attack the body, which prevents these cells from doing further damage within the body.  Other antibacterials (e.g., tetracycline, erythromycin) block the growth and reproduction of the bacteria. Often called bacteriostatic antibiotics, they prevent nutrients from reaching the bacteria, which stops them from dividing and multiplying. Because millions of bacteria are needed to continue the disease process, these antibiotics can stop the infection and give the body's immune system time to attack.

 

Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a microorganism to resist the effects of an antibiotic. Resistance occurs naturally by natural selection through mutations produced by chance. When the antibiotic comes into contact with a bacterial population, it allows only those bacteria to proliferate that have the natural mutation that cancels out the action of the antibiotic. Once the genetic information is generated, the bacteria can transmit the new genes through horizontal transfer (between individuals) by exchange of plasmids; or equally product of a lysogenic conversion. Also when bacteria divide by binary fission to create new bacteria, they will inherit that resistance gene. Then future generations of bacteria will have resistance to the antibiotic and it will no longer be useful.