The Molecular Mechanism That Make Staphylococcus Aureus Resistant To Essay

The Molecular Mechanism That Make Staphylococcus Aureus Resistant To Antibiotics - Essay Example Once this critical function is affected the bacteria cannot carry out its normal functional roles, and it is eliminated from the ecosystem. Antibiotics bind to proteins making them lose theirs capacity to carry out normal functions. Proteins normally replicate DNA, resulting in cell walls for bacteria or proteins for definite purposes. According to Talaro (2006), these processes are extremely vital in the functioning of bacteria. On the other hand, if bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, then the drugs’ ability to stop or control their growth fades away; hence, bacteria continue to thrive even when they are exposed to them. This is caused by molecular mechanisms of the bacterial species that render the antibiotics functionless. The resistant species cause infections which cannot be treated with the usual formerly effective drugs, dosages and concentrations that treated the disease successfully. This resilience might be caused by internal mechanisms or acquired from othe r external sources. Resistance to multiple antibiotics as shown by some pathogens is called Multidrug Resistance (MDR). A term superbug has now been coined and is used to refer to the same. Microorganisms have an important trait of being able to adapt fast to their environment hence can survive for a long time without being eliminated. Disease causing pathogens have become a serious threat in medicine due to their resistance to antibiotics. ... There are different lines of antibiotics such as first, second and possibly third. Drug resistant microorganisms may have acquired resistance to the first line of antibiotics hence causing the need to use the second line of antibiotics. The first line of these antibiotics is usually selected based on several advantageous factors which include safety, availability and their cost. In contrast the second line agents usually have a broader spectrum compared to those in the first line. They possess a less favorable risk benefit to the users and maybe more expensive and not accessible in the local marketplace. Resistance to the second and occasionally to the third line of antibiotics is usually acquired in a sequential manner (Bauman, Machunis-Masuoka, and Tizard, 2004). This is usually well illustrated by a bacterial strain called staphylococcus aureus, which is discussed abundantly in this essay. Resistance may be due to mutation which can either be spontaneous or induced by other factor s. It may also be through gaining resistant genes from other resistant bacterial species. This is through horizontal gene transfer which may occur through conjugation, transduction or transformation. These antibiotic resistance genes usually reside on the plasmids expediting their transmission. Contact with antibiotics necessitates natural selection, leading to the survival of organisms with resistant genes. This causes the gene for the antibiotic resistance to spread easily through an ecosystem of bacteria. Staphylococcus Aureus Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that has shown resistance to antibiotics for a long period. This resistant pathogen is located on its hosts’ mucous membranes and human skin, is extremely resistant