Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

ok.

Here's an example.

We have a bacteria, escherichia coli for example, resistant to pennicilin and beside it, Enterococcus faecium for example, that is not resistant to pennicilin. Now, can the e.coli give that resistant gene, to e.faecium ??

Posted

Well there are other modes of horizontal gene transfer, including transduction via phages or natural transformation (though Eschericia and Enterococcusspecies are unable to that).

Posted

Resistance gets passed across species all the time by various methods. However, it works best in vaguely similar species, as otherwise the genes might be passed on but ineffective due to structural differences. There's conjugation (bacteria sex, notoriously promiscuous across species), transformation (bacteria assimilating loose DNA), and transduction (transfer via virus). Of course the bacteria might develop a resistance of its own accord as well.

Posted

these are all true. but the ecoli could catch out the unwary and make the e fecium appear resistant as the blactamase diffuse into the media. one to watch out for if you are training it is a great way to teach people to not trust their eyes but rely on their knowledge and not over complicate things

  • 2 months later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.