And can it share this resistance with other bacteria?
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Bacteria are weak organisms. That is why they have the natural ability to exchange parts of their DNA with each other. So if two bacteria meet, they exchange parts of their DNA to make each other stronger. So yeah they can share. That’s btw the principal used in making gmo plants.
While plenty of folks mentioned random mutation and then clonal expansion, its important to note horizontal gene transfer as the main method of acquiring antibiotic resistance. Many bacterium can transfer a small, circular segment of DNA to other bacteria (even different species and even if the donor bacterium is dead), and much of these transfers involve genes for antibiotic resistance.
Bacteria are weak organisms. That is why they have the natural ability to exchange parts of their DNA with each other. So if two bacteria meet, they exchange parts of their DNA to make each other stronger. So yeah they can share. That’s btw the principal used in making gmo plants.
While plenty of folks mentioned random mutation and then clonal expansion, its important to note horizontal gene transfer as the main method of acquiring antibiotic resistance. Many bacterium can transfer a small, circular segment of DNA to other bacteria (even different species and even if the donor bacterium is dead), and much of these transfers involve genes for antibiotic resistance.
While plenty of folks mentioned random mutation and then clonal expansion, its important to note horizontal gene transfer as the main method of acquiring antibiotic resistance. Many bacterium can transfer a small, circular segment of DNA to other bacteria (even different species and even if the donor bacterium is dead), and much of these transfers involve genes for antibiotic resistance.
I think other commenters summed up the total effect pretty well but I don’t think the mechanisms have really been talked about. Those little guys are actually smart enough to be able to produce enzymes that can deactivate antibiotics, make it so that the bacteria can’t enter in the first place (by changing the receptors they express on the cell surface), create efflux pumps to basically pump the antibiotics back out of the cell, or even change the target that the antibiotic was supposed to work on, making it useless when it does get into the cell
I think other commenters summed up the total effect pretty well but I don’t think the mechanisms have really been talked about. Those little guys are actually smart enough to be able to produce enzymes that can deactivate antibiotics, make it so that the bacteria can’t enter in the first place (by changing the receptors they express on the cell surface), create efflux pumps to basically pump the antibiotics back out of the cell, or even change the target that the antibiotic was supposed to work on, making it useless when it does get into the cell
I think other commenters summed up the total effect pretty well but I don’t think the mechanisms have really been talked about. Those little guys are actually smart enough to be able to produce enzymes that can deactivate antibiotics, make it so that the bacteria can’t enter in the first place (by changing the receptors they express on the cell surface), create efflux pumps to basically pump the antibiotics back out of the cell, or even change the target that the antibiotic was supposed to work on, making it useless when it does get into the cell
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