Watch antibiotic resistance evolve | Science News

Science News
8 Sept 201602:02

Summary

TLDRThis script describes an experiment that visually demonstrates bacterial evolution. A petri dish setup with varying antibiotic concentrations is used to simulate a 'bacterial petri dish'. Bacteria initially spread in antibiotic-free areas but are halted by increasing concentrations. Over 11 days, mutants emerge, adapting to higher concentrations, illustrating how bacteria can rapidly evolve resistance to antibiotics through successive mutations.

Takeaways

  • 🔬 The experiment created a petri dish with dimensions of 2 feet by 4 feet to study bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
  • 📏 It was divided into 9 bands, each with a different concentration of antibiotic, ranging from none to a thousand times the amount that the wild-type bacteria can survive.
  • 🌐 The base of each band contained thick agar with varying amounts of antibiotic, while the top was covered with thin agar allowing bacteria to move.
  • 🌑 The background was black to contrast with the white bacteria, making them easily visible.
  • 📈 Bacteria initially spread in areas without antibiotics until they reached concentrations that were lethal.
  • 🔄 The appearance of a mutant resistant to antibiotics allowed it to spread until it competed with other mutants.
  • 🔄 When mutants encountered higher antibiotic concentrations, they needed to develop new mutations to survive.
  • 📊 The process was repeated at increasing concentrations, with mutants adapting to 10x, then 100x, and finally 1000x the antibiotic concentration.
  • ⏱️ It took approximately 11 days for the bacteria to evolve resistance to extremely high concentrations of antibiotics.
  • 🧬 The experiment demonstrates how successive mutations can rapidly evolve bacterial resistance to antibiotics.

Q & A

  • What was the size of the petri dish used in the experiment?

    -The petri dish used in the experiment was 2 feet by 4 feet.

  • How many bands were there in the setup?

    -There were 9 bands in the setup.

  • What was placed at the base of each band?

    -At the base of each band, a normal petri dish thick agar with different amounts of antibiotic was placed.

  • Was there any antibiotic present in the innermost part of the setup?

    -No, there was no antibiotic in the innermost part of the setup.

  • How did the amount of antibiotic vary across the bands?

    -The amount of antibiotic varied, with the outermost band having barely any, increasing to ten times as much, then a hundred times, and finally, the middle band had a thousand times as much antibiotic.

  • What was poured across the top of the setup?

    -Some thin agar that bacteria can move around in was poured across the top.

  • Why does the background appear black in the experiment?

    -The background appears black because the bacteria are consuming it.

  • How do the bacteria appear in the experiment?

    -The bacteria appear as white in the experiment.

  • What happens when the bacteria encounter an area with no antibiotic?

    -The bacteria spread in the area where there's no antibiotic up until the point they can no longer survive.

  • How does a mutant bacteria behave in the presence of an antibiotic?

    -A mutant bacteria that is resistant to the antibiotic spreads until it starts to compete with other mutants around it.

  • What is the process that the mutants undergo when they hit the next boundary with a higher antibiotic concentration?

    -When mutants hit the next boundary with a higher antibiotic concentration, they pause and develop new mutations to survive in the increased concentration.

  • How long did it take for the bacteria to evolve resistance to extremely high concentrations of antibiotic?

    -It took about 11 days for the bacteria to evolve resistance to 1,000 times as much antibiotic as the wild-type can survive.

  • What does the experiment demonstrate about bacterial evolution?

    -The experiment demonstrates that bacteria, which are normally sensitive to an antibiotic, can evolve resistance to extremely high concentrations in a short period of time through the process of accumulating successive mutations.

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Ähnliche Tags
Antibiotic ResistanceBacterial EvolutionMutation ProcessPetri Dish ExperimentMedical ResearchBiology StudyScientific DiscoveryMicrobiologyEvolutionary BiologyHealth Science
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