How do bacteria become resistant?

Answer 1

the idea behind resistance is that bacteria are able to break down the chemical which is toxic to the bacteria. Antibiotics are made of many chemical groups, usually extracted from fungus and manipulated chemically to become more effective in killing bacteria. However, because it is a chemical of natural origin, it is possible that enzymes are available to break down this chemical. Now lets say you treat a colony of 1000000 bacteria and 10 have an enzyme that is very rare in the species that breaks down a certain antibiotic, So when its all said and done, the 10 will survive and reproduce, thus yielding in a resistant strain of bacteria. That is how they become resistant.

Answer 2

Bacteria becomes resistant when some of the bacteria that was strong enough to survive a medicine live on to make newer and stronger bacteria to take its place. Over time you are left with only the strong bacteria, so the same medicine that you used before will no longer affect them.

Answer 3

Those few that are naturally immune to a drug will survive to have offspring. Some of them may produce plasmids, small bundles of DNA, which may contain the necessary code for resistance, this plasmid may then be passed on to other bacteria, even of other species of bacteria, so that the immunity spreads. This plasmid mediated immunity is the basis of many antibiotics becoming nearly useless.

The good news is, the plasmid requires energy to maintain, and will eventually be lost, or parts of it, if not required, so if a particular antibiotic is not used for several years, the resistance to it will fade, and it will become useful again.

Answer 4

To Start With, Modification of the Antibiotic Itself, is Only One Mechanism of Antibiotic Resistance. I Think Most Antibiotic Resistance is Mediated By a Plasmid, Some By Modification of the Genome Itself, Natural Selection, See Barbara McClintock.

Answer 5

there are some, I guess, genetic mechanisms governing and producing resistance to environmental toxins. A resistance bacteria may get a plasmid making it resistance to certain chemical, or it may activate a certain pathway to resist group of toxins with its own genetic make up. It is also possible to explain resistance by cell wall, or additional coverage surrounding bacteria.

When you consider, becoming resistant to a new type of toxin or a new antibody, you have to think, not all of te bacteria become resistant, only some of them become resistant, and they formed a new colony of cells that is resistant.

Ä°n addition, bacteria tries to live in any condition. There mechanisms governing repair mechanism for any genetic mutation, and during spontaneous mutations or spontaneous changes in genetic make up of bacteria may form a new combination of genetic material favoring living of that bacteria and we see that as a new bacteria strain having resistance to certain chemical.

But, never forget that these things happen with the limit of its ability and genetic make up to adapt changes in its environment.

Answer 6

They may also get resistance by absorbing DNA from other bacteria.

Answer 7

there are some bacteria that can live in the prescence of a vaccum.They are called anaerobic bacteria.They can only be denatured at high temperatures

Answer 8

Evaluation caused by the drug it is immune to. All the offspring to a single bacteria that don't die is immune to the drug.

Answer 9

Mutation primarily because of unnecessary usage in viral infections.

Answer 10

synthetic theory of evolution
mutation+natural selection