Why can bacteria adapt to antibiotics, but not adapt to environmental things like heat or acids/soaps (Salmonella as an example)?

Question

Edit: I’ve had a lot of fun reading all of your analogies

In: 64

Answer 1

Antibiotic resistance comes about as a result of a genetic mutation. With how frequently bacteria reproduce, these mutations can occur very quickly.

Soaps will break down the cell membrane of the organism. These have remained unchanged from the most ancient archaea that first evolved on earth to modern eukaryotic cells so it’s likely that there just is no other design that would be resistant to them. Some archaea are acidophiles and can exist very happily in low pH conditions.