Question
many infectious diseases are becoming difficult to treat because of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Population of bacteria can become resistant when they are exposed to an antibiotic. What is the most general explanation for how this occurs?
a. The antibiotic induces specific mutations in some of the bacteria that make them antibiotic resistant.
b. The antibiotic activates bacteria, gene, and coding enzymes that can destroy the antibiotic.
c. The antibiotic increases the bacteria mutation rate so that resistant mutant bacteria are more likely to arise
d. anti biotic resistant mutant bacteria already present in the population survive and reproduce in the presence of the antibiotic.
a. The antibiotic induces specific mutations in some of the bacteria that make them antibiotic resistant.
b. The antibiotic activates bacteria, gene, and coding enzymes that can destroy the antibiotic.
c. The antibiotic increases the bacteria mutation rate so that resistant mutant bacteria are more likely to arise
d. anti biotic resistant mutant bacteria already present in the population survive and reproduce in the presence of the antibiotic.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The most general explanation for how bacterial resistance to antibiotics occurs is:
**d. Antibiotic-resistant mutant bacteria already present in the population survive and reproduce in the presence of the antibiotic.**
This explanation emphasizes that resistance can already exist in a small proportion of the bacterial population before exposure to the antibiotic, and those resistant bacteria are selected for and can proliferate when the antibiotic is introduced. While the other options describe mechanisms related to bacterial mutation or response to antibiotics, option d captures the fundamental principle of natural selection in the context of antibiotic resistance.
**d. Antibiotic-resistant mutant bacteria already present in the population survive and reproduce in the presence of the antibiotic.**
This explanation emphasizes that resistance can already exist in a small proportion of the bacterial population before exposure to the antibiotic, and those resistant bacteria are selected for and can proliferate when the antibiotic is introduced. While the other options describe mechanisms related to bacterial mutation or response to antibiotics, option d captures the fundamental principle of natural selection in the context of antibiotic resistance.