Question

How does antibiotic resistance happen (from molecular mechanisms to HGT to societal factors)?

Answer 1

1. Germs (bacteria and fungi) are everywhere. Some help us. Some make people, crops, or animals sick. Some of those germs are resistant to antibiotics.
2. Antibiotics kill germs that cause infections. But antibiotic-resistant germs find ways to survive. Antibiotics also kill good bacteria that protect the body from infection.
3. Antibiotic-resistant germs can multiply. Some resistant germs can also give their resistance directly to other germs.
4. Once antibiotic resistance emerges, it can spread into new settings and between countries.

Defense Strategies

• Germs restrict access by changing the entryways or limiting the number of entryways
• Germs get rid of antibiotics using pumps in their cell walls to remove antibiotic drugs that enter the cell.
• Germs change or destroy the antibiotics with enzymes, proteins that break down the drug.
• Germs develop new cell processes that avoid using the antibiotic’s target.
• Many antibiotic drugs are designed to single out and destroy specific parts (or targets) of a bacterium. Germs change the antibiotic’s target so the drug can no longer fit and do its job.