How does resistant strains of bacteria develop

Ave Patrick Explainer. Can antibiotic resistance be inherited? Bacteria's antibiotic resistance genes aren't just inherited through reproduction — in the case of bacteria that's asexual reproduction, where one parent cell becomes two daughter cells, also known as vertical gene transfer.

Messoud Vaindrakh Explainer. What types of bacteria are resistant to antibiotics? Bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Silva Laars Pundit. How is antibiotic resistance spread? Resistant bacteria spread to the environment and food through water contaminated by faeces or through wildlife. Resistant bacteria spread to humans and other animals through the environment water, soil, air. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change to protect themselves from an antibiotic.

Tina Artiga Pundit. Can bacteria lose resistance? Bacteria can use viruses to transfer their drug- resistant genes from one individual to another. So once one bacterium is resistant , others quickly can join the club [source: APUA]. The good news: Bacteria can also lose their resistance to antibiotics, as well.

Genetics has a sort of "use it or lose it" principle. Radka Radeker Pundit. What are examples of antibiotic resistance? Examples of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics include methicillin- resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA , penicillin- resistant Enterococcus, and multidrug- resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis MDR-TB , which is resistant to two tuberculosis drugs, isoniazid and rifampicin.

Otmar Hackelsperger Pundit. What is meant by antibiotic resistance? Antibiotic resistance : The ability of bacteria and other microorganisms to resist the effects of an antibiotic to which they were once sensitive. Antibiotic resistance is a major concern of overuse of antibiotics. Also known as drug resistance. Massamba Fortunatov Pundit. Are antibiotics overused? The overuse of antibiotics — especially taking antibiotics even when they're not the appropriate treatment — promotes antibiotic resistance.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to one-third to one-half of antibiotic use in humans is unnecessary or inappropriate. Jutta Oberlin Teacher. How do antibiotics kill bacteria? Antibiotics fight bacterial infections either by killing bacteria or slowing and suspending its growth. They do this by: attacking the wall or coating surrounding bacteria. Melvy Ayaso Teacher. How do bacteria mutate? Bacteria grow and multiply fast and can reach large numbers.

Example: Escherichia coli bacteria with the mcr- 1 gene can add a compound to the outside of the cell wall so that the drug colistin cannot latch onto it. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. How Antibiotic Resistance Happens. Minus Related Pages. On This Page. Some help us. Some make people, crops, or animals sick.

Some of those germs are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics kill germs that cause infections. But antibiotic-resistant germs find ways to survive. Antibiotics also kill good bacteria that protect the body from infection. Antibiotic-resistant germs can multiply.

Some resistant germs can also give their resistance directly to other germs. Once antibiotic resistance emerges, it can spread into new settings and between countries.

Top of Page. Germ Defense Strategies Antibiotics fight germs bacteria and fungi. Within a couple of years methicilin resistant strains had emerged just about everywhere methicillin was being used. The methicillin resistant varieties were possibly a direct response to methicillin my favoured theory or a chance hybridisation with a distantly related bacteria that already contained the methicillin resistant gene.

Nobody knows for sure. The bacteria may have grown in an environment where it is introduced to the antibiotics therefore making it immune to the drugs. This isn't entirely true. Penicillin is still as effective against the bacteria that it combated 50 years ago, but new strains of penicillin resistant bacteria have evolved since 50 years ago.

This means that penicillin is less effective against a larger percentage of bacteria than it was 50 years ago, solely because of the new, anti-biotic resistant strains.

For more information, search Natural Selection. The careless use of antibiotics leads to the development of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Therefore, Tamiflu should only be used as prescribed by a doctor. There is more antibiotic use in health-care settings, which results in more antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

There is a homeopathic version of penicillin called pleo-not or notakehl which seems to offer the same antibiotic action without the side effects such as killing healthy bacteria in the gut or creating antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Bacteria become resistant to antibiotics when they evolve, or develop mutations, that allow them to survive when under attack by antibiotics.

By random chance, a bacterial cell may develop a mutation in its genetic information DNA or RNA that allows it to become resistant to antibiotics. When it divides, it passes this mutation on to the daughter cells its offspring.

After some time, the antibiotic will probably kill off all or most of the bacteria without the resistant gene so only those that are resistant remain. Also, bacteria can transfer the resistant gene to other bacterial cells through lateral gene transfer, which involves the formation of a pilus between two bacterial cells through which the genetic information can pass.

Log in. Medication and Drugs. See Answer. Best Answer. Study guides. Q: How does resistant strains of bacteria develop? Write your answer Related questions. What bacteria causes MRSA? What is MRSA strains? Why do some strains of bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?

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