Bacteria, Antibiotics and Resistance

Lesson 4

These videos describe how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

 
 

Antibiotic Resistance: Penicillins and ESBL

Resistance to Penicillins and related antibiotics is one of the most serious types of antibiotic resistance. In this video we explore the mechanism of this resistance and the extent of the problem.

 

Antibiotic Resistance Mechanisms

In this video we discuss two common ways which bacteria become resistant to antibiotics: efflux pumps and target modification.

 

Antibiotic Resistance: Biofilms

Bacteria can grow in communities called biofilms which can make them highly resistant to antibiotics.

 

Resistance can arise by mutation

One way for a bacteria to become resistant to an antibiotic is that mutations occur in the DNA. We’ll hear how that happens.

 

Rapid Evolution of Bacteria by Mutation

This video illustrates how quickly bacteria can evolve resistance to antibiotics through mutation.

 

Horizontal Gene Transfer

Bacteria can exchange genes for antibiotic resistance. This process can be very rapid and can transfer multiple resistances at once.

 

Bacteriophages

Bacterial viruses called bacteriophages can transfer antibiotic resistance genes between bacteria but they also may become an important tool in fighting resistant infections.

 

Test your knowledge of Lesson 4 here!