Flashcards · Biology · Evolution and Natural Selection
Antibiotic Resistance
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What are antibiotics?
Drugs that kill bacteria or stop them from growing.
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Do antibiotics work on viruses?
No.
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What is antibiotic resistance?
The ability of bacteria to survive an antibiotic.
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How does a bacterium become resistant?
By a mutation, which gives variation in the population.
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What is the selection pressure in antibiotic resistance?
The antibiotic.
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What happens to non-resistant bacteria when an antibiotic is used?
They are killed.
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What do the resistant bacteria do?
Survive and reproduce, and pass on the resistance allele.
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Why can bacteria evolve so fast?
They reproduce very quickly, so there are many generations in a short time.
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What does MRSA stand for?
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
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Why is antibiotic resistance a problem?
Infections become hard to treat, and surgery and other treatments become risky.
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Why should patients finish a course of antibiotics?
To kill all of the bacteria, and not leave the resistant ones to survive.
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Why should antibiotics not be used for colds?
Colds are caused by viruses, which antibiotics do not kill, and using them increases resistance.
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How does handwashing help?
It reduces the spread of resistant bacteria.
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Does the antibiotic cause the mutation?
No. The mutation happens by chance, and the antibiotic selects the bacteria that have it.
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Why is antibiotic resistance an example of evolution?
The proportion of resistant bacteria increases by natural selection.
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Common mistake about resistance?
Saying that the person becomes resistant. It is the bacteria that become resistant.