Multiple Choice
Which of the following environments is most likely to harbor a thermophilic microorganism?
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1. Introduction to Microbiology
Introduction to Microbiology
Multiple Choice
Which of the following best explains how an antibiotic acts as a selective agent in promoting bacterial resistance?
A
Antibiotics increase the rate of bacterial reproduction, leading to resistance.
B
Antibiotics directly cause mutations in bacterial DNA that lead to resistance.
C
Antibiotics kill susceptible bacteria, allowing resistant bacteria to survive and multiply.
D
Antibiotics prevent all bacteria from growing, eliminating the possibility of resistance.
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the concept of selective pressure in microbiology: a selective agent, such as an antibiotic, creates an environment where only certain bacteria can survive and reproduce.
Recognize that antibiotics do not increase bacterial reproduction or directly cause mutations; instead, they kill or inhibit bacteria that are susceptible to their effects.
Identify that bacteria with resistance traits survive antibiotic treatment because these traits protect them from the antibiotic's action.
Realize that the surviving resistant bacteria then multiply, leading to a population dominated by resistant strains.
Conclude that the antibiotic acts as a selective agent by killing susceptible bacteria and allowing resistant bacteria to survive and multiply, which explains the development of resistance.
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