Question

Respond to the following in a minimum of 175 words: As you have learned this week, bacterial cells have the ability acquire genetic traits by swapping genes with other bacterial cells. If you were a bacterium, what genetic traits would you find most helpful to acquire?

Answer 1

Solution:

The most deirable trait a bacterium wants to acquire is resistance. Resisitance to the chemicals that induce negative effects on them. More specifically resistance against antibiotics. Bacteria can obtain resistance via different mechanisms like spontaneous mutation, transormation, transduction and conjugation.

The spontaneous mutation generally occurs on the chromosomal DNA of bacterium. On the other hand the conjugation is the important plasmid mediated mechanism through which bacteria horizontally transfer the genes. The conjugation is the process through which the bacteria exchange genetic material between each other in a species specific manner. During conjugation bacteria generally tranfer plasmid DNA. Plasmid is nothing but extrachromosomal circular double stranded DNA present in bacteria along with their chromosomal DNA. They are usually circular in appearance. Since plasmids have their own replication origins they are considered as self replicative.

Plasmids confer antibiotic resistance and it is the most helpul trait to acquire. The bacteria need to execute different antimicrobial resistance mechanisms to live in anitibiotic contatining environment. Th mechanisms include decreased permeability, alteration or replacement of the target, enzyme inactivation and active export of the antibiotics through specific pumps. During conjugation of other process aforementioned, the bacteria either obtain or exchange different antibiotic resistance genes. The expression of these genes confer resistance to bacteria against the antibiotic through one of these four methods (decreased permeability, alteration or replacement of the target, enzyme inactivation and active export of the antibiotics through specific pumps).