Questions

Chapter 13

  • beta-lactams

  • MRSA — staph; what it can do and cant

  • vancomycin

  • step by step of binary fission

  • gene transfer & mutations — how bacteria can be more genetically varied

  • evolution + its requirements

  • fitness — ENVIRONMENT!!

  • natural selection — types, how it leads to adaptation

Test Your Knowledge:

Can S. aureus be present in or on a person who has no evidence of an infection?

  • Yes, it is a common skin bacterium

The term “MRSA” as it is used today refers to…

  • S. aureus bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics

What is the difference between S. aureus colonization and S. aureus infection?

  • In colonization: the bacteria are growing on or in the body without causing disease

  • Infections are associated w/ disease

MRSA is most likely to be problematic if found…

  • in the bloodstream

How do beta-lactam antibiotics kill sensitive bacteria?

  • by destabilizing the cell wall (NOT CELL MEMBRANE!!)

What are 2 major mechanisms by which bacterial populations acquire genetic diversity?

  • gene transfer & mutation

What is the environmental pressure in the case of antibiotic resistance?

  • the presence of absence of antibiotics in the environment

The evolution of antibiotic resistance is an example of

  • directional selection

What is the evolutionary meaning of the term “fitness”?

  • fitness is an organisms ability to reproduce and survive in a particular environment

Chapter 14

  • 4,5,8,12,17