An antibiotic is a drug that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms. The use of antibiotics has been of great importance in the battle against many infectious diseases caused by microorganisms. The mode of action for many antibiotics is to inhibit the translation process within bacterial cells. Certain antibiotics selectively bind to bacterial (70S) ribosomes but do not inhibit eukaryotic (80S) ribosomes. Why would an antibiotic bind to a bacterial ribosome but not to a eukaryotic ribosome? Why does this binding inhibit growth?

Biology 2e
2nd Edition
ISBN:9781947172517
Author:Matthew Douglas, Jung Choi, Mary Ann Clark
Publisher:Matthew Douglas, Jung Choi, Mary Ann Clark
Chapter15: Genes And Proteins
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 3VCQ: Figure 15.16 Many antibiotics inhibit bacterial protein synthesis. For example, tetracycline blocks...
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An antibiotic is a drug that kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms. The use of antibiotics has been of great importance in the battle against many infectious diseases caused by microorganisms. The mode of action for many antibiotics is to inhibit the translation process within bacterial cells. Certain antibiotics selectively bind to bacterial (70S) ribosomes but do not inhibit eukaryotic (80S) ribosomes. Why would an antibiotic bind to a bacterial ribosome but not to a eukaryotic ribosome? Why does this binding inhibit growth?

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