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| 1. |
Explain the effect of antibiotic penicillin on bacterial cells |
| Answer» Taxonomically, all bacteria are closely related to each other than to viruses and vice versa. This means that many important life processes are similar in the bacteria group but are not shared with the virus group. As a result, drugs that block one of these life processes in one member of the group is likely to be effective against many other members of the group. But the same drug will not work against a microbe belonging to a different group. As an example, let us take antibiotics. They commonly block biochemical pathways important for bacteria. Many bacteria, for example, make a cell-wall to protect them. The antibiotic penicillin blocks the bacterial processes that build the cell wall. As a result, the growing bacteria become unable to make cell-walls, and die easily. | |