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How does natural selection lead to antibiotic resistance in bacteria?
Wiki User
∙ 9y ago
The bacteria who (for whatever reason) happen to be better able to withstand antibiotics are the ones who usually survive long enough to reproduce. Their offspring, therefore, are more likely to have that little bit of better resistance that gives them those few seconds of advantage, etc. Usually it'd take a long time for that little difference to make a creature resistant to a toxin, but as bacteria have a very fast reproduction rate you have thousands of generations in a really short time.
A hundred years may not seem like really fast to us, but considering these kinds of changes in more complex life forms would take millions of years, that's like evolution on fast forward (take humans for example: 10,000 years later and the only thing that's changed is our environment - our Biology is still pretty much the exact same as before).
Chaz Stroman
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoThe bacteria who (for whatever reason) happen to be better able to withstand antibiotics are the ones who usually survive long enough to reproduce. Their offspring, therefore, are more likely to have that little bit of better resistance that gives them those few seconds of advantage, etc. Usually it'd take a long time for that little difference to make a creature resistant to a toxin, but as bacteria have a very fast reproduction rate you have thousands of generations in a really short time.
A hundred years may not seem like really fast to us, but considering these kinds of changes in more complex life forms would take millions of years, that's like evolution on fast forward (take humans for example: 10,000 years later and the only thing that's changed is our environment - our Biology is still pretty much the exact same as before).
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Are Antibiotic resistance evolved through the process of natural selection acting upon random mutation?
Antibiotic resistance is developed as the organism grows more resistant to a chemical that doesn't kill it initially. In bacteria, this is a mutation and gives rise to various 'strains'.
Increased resistance in bacteria after repeated exposure to antibiotics is due to?
Natural selection
What is bacteria passing resistance to a medicine on to offspring an example of?
It is an example of natural selection.
What is an explanation of how antibiotic resistance occurs?
Bacterial resistances are developed due to mutations that are passed down from generations of bacteria. Antibiotics generally kill all but the strongest bacteria or bacteria that have resistances to these antibiotics, resulting in only these bacteria reproducing, passing on the antibiotic resistances to future generations. Over time, entire populations of bacteria can develop a resistance to an antibiotic if they are frequently exposed to it. Bacterial resistances are developed due to mutations that are passed down from generations of bacteria. Antibiotics generally kill all but the strongest bacteria or bacteria that have resistances to these antibiotics, resulting in only these bacteria reproducing, passing on the antibiotic resistances to future generations. Over time, entire populations of bacteria can develop a resistance to an antibiotic if they are frequently exposed to it. Bacterial resistances are developed due to mutations that are passed down from generations of bacteria. Antibiotics generally kill all but the strongest bacteria or bacteria that have resistances to these antibiotics, resulting in only these bacteria reproducing, passing on the antibiotic resistances to future generations. Over time, entire populations of bacteria can develop a resistance to an antibiotic if they are frequently exposed to it.
Why is bacteria the effects of natural selection are generally seen most quickly in the organism?
Bacteria is the answer
How does tetracycline act as an agent for natural selction?
as the bacteria it was exposed to, eventually one strain mutated and this lead to a resistance to the antibiotic, and therefore the bacteria with the mutation was able to reproduce, where as the other bacteria would have been killed off by the antibiotic. Thus natural selection is achieved, yipee!(not for us)
How do antibiotic resistant bacteria come about?
This term is misleading. The antibiotic "selects" bacteria that are not affected by it. If a person will grow bacteria on a petri dish and add an antibiotic to it, some bacteria may live and grow. This is actually a form of natural selection. The ones that will grow are resistance to the antibiotic. They have some way of not being affected. If a person takes a colony from the plate that has this resistance and grows it on another plate and add the antibiotic, all on the plate will be resistant.
Explain why the evolution of resistance to antibiotics in bacteria is an example of directional natural selection?
All bacteria, as are all organisms, are variants and some of these variants are resistant to antibiotics. So, a population of bacteria, in their immediate environment, are subjected to an antibiotic and most succumb. So, the resistant, survive the onslaught ( are naturally selected ) and reproduce progeny that are also resistant to the antibiotic. So, allele frequency shifts and evolution occurs die to the adaptive change conferred on the progeny population by natural selection.
Are Antibiotic resistance evolved through the process of natural selection acting upon random mutation?
Antibiotic resistance is developed as the organism grows more resistant to a chemical that doesn't kill it initially. In bacteria, this is a mutation and gives rise to various 'strains'.
How does the growth of antibiotic resistance in bacteria support the theory of evolution in natural selection?
All bacteria, as are all organisms, are variants and some of these variants are resistant to antibiotics. So, a population of bacteria, in their immediate environment, are subjected to an antibiotic and most succumb. So, the resistant, survive the onslaught ( are naturally selected ) and reproduce progeny that are also resistant to the antibiotic. So, allele frequency shifts and evolution occurs die to the adaptive change conferred on the progeny population by natural selection.
Increased resistance in bacteria after repeated exposure to antibiotics is due to?
Natural selection
How is antibiotic resistance bacteria an example of natural selection?
When a population of bacteria is bombarded with antibiotics, the 'weak' ones will die. The ones with some resistance built in will survive, and divide to form a new population of copies of themselves, or a resistant population. This in itself is survival of the fittest in a very pure form.
What is bacteria passing resistance to a medicine on to offspring an example of?
It is an example of natural selection.
Explain how natural selection can give rive to a population of antibiotic resistant bacteria?
Consider the following scenario: An antibiotic is applied to a petri dish of bacteria. The antibiotic will kill of most of the bacteria, but some will remain that are immune to the antibiotic. Therefore, only the immune bacteria will reproduce. Soon, the whole petri dish will be full of bacteria that is immune to the antibiotic. Nature "selects" the immune bacteria for survival.
Natural selection example?
A great example would be Antibiotics and Bacteria. When humans create an antibiotic, it wipes out a lot of the bacteria in your body. The ones that that don't get affected by it probably have a resistance to the antibiotic. As those bacteria multiply and grow, the others die out due to the antibioitic. Soon the anti-biotic resistant bacteria will take over the human body, and the humans would have to find another antibiotic to counter the new bacteria. The cycle goes on and on......
How is resistance to antibiotics shared from one bacteria to another?
Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics through the process of natural selection. The antibiotic will kill most of the population of bacteria but not all because some of them already have the resistance. Also if the antibiotic is not utilized correctly ( according to a physicians instructions ) some of the more hardy individuals of the bacteria population will live. These bacteria breed and produce offspring that are also more resistant to antibiotics. Generations of bacteria happen much more rapidly than with people so the ability of bacteria to adapt to new environments is much more robust with respect to time.
How have bacteria evolved resistance to penicillin?
natural selection, if a victim of a bacterial disease takes penicillin and the bacteria survives it is spread and reproduces, but those that don't have more resistance are either destroyed or have lower numbers
