Antibiotic Resistance Lab Report

The development of antibiotics was an important advancement in 20th century medicine. Previously deadly infectious diseases are now routinely treated with antibiotics. Moreover, for modern-day medical procedures such as chemotherapy treatment to be successful, antibiotic use is necessary. For these reasons, the prospect of bacteria developing widespread resistance to antibiotics is a major concern as it would render many modern-day medical therapies unviable.

When non-resistant bacteria are exposed to an antibiotic, most of them die. But due to the increase of mutations some of the bacteria are becoming resistance to the antibiotic. The bacteria are all subject to natural selection. Natural selection is as simple as saying that the bacteria that have not developed a mutation or resistance that helps them to survive die. The ones that do, survive and pass on the mutation to the next generation. This means that we are constantly having to adapt our antibiotics because so much of the mutation is getting passed along. The flu vaccination is a good example of how mutations are carried over and how the vaccine had to be changed every year to fight the ever changing virus. Some strains

Antibiotic resistance evolves in bacteria. Charles Darwin created the theory of evolution which focused on natural selection being the key factor of how things change. Natural selection is when organisms that are better suited to the environment are able to reproduce successfully. Evolution is descent with modification. Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics by a mutation. The bacteria that did not die from the antibiotic inherited the gene from an ancestor that made it resistant. Since the other bacteria is dying faster than the resistant bacteria, the resistant bacteria are able to multiply

Antibiotic resistance is when microorganisms, such as bacteria, are able to survive an exposure to antibiotics and these bacteria are now resistant to the effects of these antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance in bacteria has been an issue since antibiotics were discovered. The fact that bacteria can become resistant to our medical treatments such as antibiotics is a natural evolutionary process, but there are certain human contributions that definitely speed up the process. For example, one of the main contributions that will be discussed is the problem of over prescription of the antibiotic drugs. The

The misuse and overdose of the antibiotics increase the resistance problem. It can cause these bacteria to

When antibiotic is used most of the bacteria die but a few bacteria with antibiotic resistance gene survive and reproduce and pass this advantage to their offsprings. This selective pressure exists naturally, however antibiotic misuse can be accused for fastening the spread of the antibiotic resistance gene [Refer to figure 2] (Learn Genetics 2015). Consequently, inappropriate antibiotic intake will lead to a greater chance of superbugs being developed. Antibiotic resistance can be defined as a new ability which a bacterium has developed to stay unattached in the presence of an antibiotic that was previously effective to destroy the bacterium (ABC science 2015). Four key mechanisms that has been identified for bacterial antibiotic resistance can be listed as: producing enzymes that inhibit the functionality of the drug, reducing the effectiveness of the drug by producing targets against which the antibiotic, reducing the permeability of the drug into the bacterium and active export of antibiotics using various pumps (Pogson 2012). All these mechanisms can be developed by any of the bacteria when the corresponding mutated gene of antibacterial resistance is received. The genes code for specific proteins, and variation in the gene leads to alteration of the shape of proteins. This leads to changing the functionality

The video “Program Four: Creators of the Future” talks about microbes in general; especially how some of them are resistant to antibiotics in various circumstances. Microbes are all around the world, even inside us. Many microbes are beneficial to humans but some of them are not. They are mostly associated with illness and because of that, in 1928 Alexander Fleming invented penicillin, which is an antibiotic produced by mold. Penicillin was the first microbial product to kill human diseases. Some microbes are resistant to all antibiotics and cannot be treated. When penicillin functions correctly, it kills the bacteria by destroying their cell walls. Microbes reproduce by replicating themselves in two; when a mutation in the replication occurs, what happens is that the microbe with the mutation is going to be resistant to all antibiotics known for the moment. Nothing will stop microbes from mutating;

Another way that bacteria can be invaded by antibiotics and resist it is the following: they let the antibiotic in and then remove it. They simply let the antibiotic in through the cell and they have parts of the bacteria that will remove the antibiotic from the cell before it can do any harm. They can also build resistance another way. Some antibiotics work by harming one or more necessary parts of the cell so it cannot function any more. For example, if an antibiotic invades the bacterial cell and destroys the way the cell can reproduce, it would eventually die off. Unfortunately, bacteria have found a way to resist this, and still function without the part of the cell. The way that they normally preform this has been destroyed, but some bacteria find new ways to still carry out this function using a different method. Sometimes when bacteria want to build resistance they will do it in advance. For example they will over prepare and make more vitamins than necessary before they come in contact with the antibiotic. When the antibiotic kills some of them off, there are too many vitamins in the cell that they just cannot all be

This then means that the illness can spread, because the antibiotic has not succeeded in curing it. The way that bacteria form this type of resistance can be explained through natural selection. To start with, there are variations in the bacteria in the way that some are able to resist the antibiotic and some are not. When the bacteria come into contact with an antibiotic, those that are resistant will survive, while the rest will die. These selected bacteria then pass on the characteristics that allow them to resist the antibiotic. This means that over time, the antibiotic will become ineffective against a larger percentage of the bacteria. A new resistant strain of the bacteria has been formed that can survive even when treated with antibiotics, therefore enabling it to be passed to other people. The main cause of this is the overuse or misuse of antibiotics, which allows the bacteria more of a chance to develop a resistance. Some bacteria such as those found in the digestive tract, are naturally resistant to types of antibiotics. Illnesses that have previously been easy to cure with antibiotics are now harder to treat due to antibiotic

Under the circumstances where dosage of antibiotics is not necessary or not sufficient, even though normal bacteria will die, bacteria that possess genes for antibiotic resistance will likely survive, giving them the opportunity to reproduce, creating new bacteria with their traits of being resistant to antibiotics. This is because these types of bacteria have been naturally selected for antibiotic resistance so that they can survive under the conditions of antibiotics. As a result, bacteria can emerge to be drug resistant to antibiotics thanks to the process of natural

Frequent antibiotic use over long periods of time puts selective pressure on bacteria, and causes resistance to spread. When an antibiotic is used to treat a typical bacterial infection, most bacteria are killed. Sometimes, however, a bacterium with an advantage lives. This bacterium can then reproduce and pass its advantage on, creating many more antibiotic resistant bacteria.​ Sometimes in medicine, antibiotics are used too often or incorrectly, which can cause resistance to spread faster than it would

Once bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, the sensitive bacteria are killed, but sometimes not all the bacteria are killed and those colonies that survive, are left to multiply. Bacteria can become resistant through many mechanisms, it depends on the bacteria. Some bacteria fight the drugs and push them out, others alter the attack site which makes the antibiotic unable to harm the bacteria in a way it did before. The attack site is altered when the bacteria has a stronger defense than the antibiotic has (Rice, 2006). If repeatedly exposed to antibiotics, this process allows selective pressure to occur which makes it more likely for the bacteria to mutate. Selective pressure is a process the bacteria take to become immune. Sometimes, however,

Antimicrobials have also been found to affect natural microbial populations in aquatic and terrestrial systems. They have been shown to cause shifts in algae and bacteria communities with the potential to cause ecological cascade effects on higher trophic levels that rely on them as a food source. Antibiotic resistance happens when bacteria knows the medicine and which can make us sick and change so that the antibiotic used to treat the disease will not work for example when antibiotic resistance bacteria is methicillin-resistance is found on the skin whenever used antibiotic when individual develops rash on their skins this particular bacteria knows it will not react to it at

To understand how bacteria became resistant to antibiotics, one must first understand the origin of antibiotics and its introduction into the body. Once these antibiotics were discovered and first started being used, it was not long after that that they regrettably were accompanied by the appearance of some resistant strains as well. The development of antibiotic resistance is persistent especially because

Antibiotics was developed to combat bacteria by zero in on the bacteria’s structure. As time goes by bacteria can defeat antibiotics in their natural selection. Natural selection plays an important role in the progression of antibiotic resistance. Most of the bacteria dies when it is exposed to antibiotics they are sensitive to. Therefore, it creates more space and availability of nutrients for the surviving antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Subsequently,