You have developed an antibiotic that inhibits a bacterial enzyme critical for the formation of the cell wall. However, after only a short time, the bacteria become resistant to the antibiotic, and it's no longer effective. Which mechanism is responsible for the bacteria no longer being sensitive to your antibiotic?
A) Over time, your antibiotic selected for bacteria containing a gene that codes for an enzyme capable of metabolizing your antibiotic. B) The bacteria learned to avoid taking up the antibiotic in their surroundings. C) The immune system of bacteria recognized the antibiotic as being foreign and quickly removed any antibiotic before it could accumulate to toxic levels. D) Through the use of plasmids, bacteria communicated with other bacteria that a noxious chemical was present in the environment.
A research scientist is trying to design a new antibiotic that would break down the gelatinous capsule that surrounds each bacterial cell. What action would this antibiotic prevent in bacteria that would make it effective in preventing human illness?
A) passing genes to each other B) swimming away from cells of the immune system C) attaching to body cells in order to cause infection D) reproducing using binary fission
One of the reasons that viruses are such effective infectious organisms is their ability to gain entry into host cells. Which component of a virus is primarily responsible for this feat?
A) flagellae B) reverse transcriptase C) single stranded RNA D) viral envelope