Resistance In Bacteria

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

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

In doing research for an example of natural selection, I came across antibiotic resistant bacteria. This has become one of the biggest threats to the healthcare community and Center for Disease Control. Through the use of antibiotics in treatments that are not necessarily bacterial infections, as well as the over use and misuse of antibiotics, bacteria have evolved in ways making the antibiotics used against them useless. If a bacteria manages to survive through a dose of an antibiotic, they are capable of mutating and can transfer their DNA to other bacteria. The new bacteria multiply quickly and spread to other parts of your body or outside of your body to a new host. Once the bacteria have mutated and its DNA has been transferred to

Widespread use of antibiotics has been very controversial in the media as well in the general population. Due to these controversies, it is very misunderstood to how antibiotics work leading to many patients in the hospital setting wanting to take them when it is not necessary or refusing to take when it is necessary for their survival. Some of this controversy is due to antibiotic resistance, which has spread an alarming rate in the 21st century (Walsh, 2000). Antibiotic resistance is the result of very strong bacteria or microbes that are resistant to the antibiotic prescribed and those microbes accumulate overtime by their survival, reproduction and transfer, leading to increased levels of antibiotic resistance.

It can help you stay healthy. Resistant infections can be dangerous and even life-threatening for some people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), describes antibiotic resistance is the ability of bacteria or other microbes to resist the effects of antibiotic treatment. () So instead of being destroyed by the medications, the bacteria survives and continues to reproduce, resultant in new communicable diseases that even more difficult to treat.

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;

There are, however, certain bacteria that are resistant towards antibiotics without changing their genes. Certain bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics naturally, and this happens in the case that the bacteria are too strong to kill with a weak antibiotic. Whenever this occurs, patients will normally be prescribed a more powerful antibiotic. This also happens when the colonies of bacteria are too large in comparison to the amount of antibiotic, and taking a higher dosage of antibiotic can help this.

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

As previously discussed, antibiotics often work by targeting critical functions of the bacterial cell. This means that antibiotics have specific targets, which is a boon because it means non-microbial life will not be affected by the antibiotics. However, because of this specificity, bacteria can develop ways of protecting themselves from antibiotics, leading to the rise of antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic resistance is and continues to be a global public health issue1.One of the main concerns stems from the ability for bacteria to obtain antibiotic resistance very easily as a result of chromosomal changes, or through plasmids and transposons which generate an exchange of genetic material2. Resistance can also result from single or multiple mutations1,3. To combat this rising force, scientists must research and analyse the many possibilities of mutations in a variety of genes and proteins in specific bacteria and ways to combat them.

Antibiotic resistance is, in simplest terms, just natural selection – but at a hugely exacerbated rate. We can see the effects of natural selection in ourselves; that’s why we don’t have webbed fingers, because they didn’t exactly benefit the terrestrial human race. But while it takes human beings 20-30 years to reproduce, it takes most bacteria 20-30 minutes. Think about that for a second. By reproducing every 20 minutes, a single E. Coli bacterium can create 70 billion new bacteria in just 12 hours. About 2% of those bacteria will have some type of mutation, and

When a bacterium develops a resistance to an antibiotic, the ability to kill the bacteria proves to be more difficult, causing the bacteria to reproduce rapidly without obstruction. A pathogen is able to gain resistance through the use of an antibiotic. Thus, if a microbe is able to survive the process of “selective pressure” then the bacteria with the resistance is able to reproduce, causing more pathogens with the defiance to spread. In addition to selective pressure, a bacterium has the possibility of developing a mutation or acquiring certain DNA codes that allow the microbes to obtain certain traits from other bacteria. This then allows any bacterium to become resistant due to the transfer of a DNA piece.