During Which Growth Phase are Bacteria More Susceptible to Antimicrobial

Question

During which growth phase are bacteria more susceptible to antimicrobial drugs?
A) lag phase
B) log phase
C) stationary phase
D) death phase
E) The susceptibility is the same for all phases.

Accepted Answer

During the log phase, bacteria are actively growing and dividing, which means they are synthesizing and metabolizing cellular components, such as peptidoglycans and proteins. This makes them more vulnerable to drugs that target those processes, such as antibiotics that inhibit cell wall synthesis or protein synthesis. On the other hand, during the lag phase, bacteria are not yet producing those components or replicating, which means they may be less affected by those drugs. During the stationary phase, bacteria may become less sensitive to drugs due to changes in their metabolic activity and expression of resistance genes, while during the death phase, drugs may have little effect since most of the bacteria are already dying or dead.