Edexcel A-Level Biology B 9BI0
Biological Molecules
Cells, Viruses and Reproduction of Living Things
Classification and Biodiversity
Exchange and Transport
Energy for Biological Processes
Microbiology and Pathogens
Modern Genetics
Origins of Genetic Variation
Control Systems
Ecosystems
Microbiology and Pathogens
The action of antibiotics
- 3 things to know
- Papers 1 and 3
Overview
Recall questions on bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics, how penicillin inhibits transpeptidase and causes osmotic lysis, how tetracycline blocks protein synthesis at 70S ribosomes, and why these antibiotics spare human cells.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Which ribosomal subunit does tetracycline bind to?
What is a bactericidal antibiotic?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is a bactericidal antibiotic?
Model answer
An antibiotic that kills bacteria directly.
- 2
What is a bacteriostatic antibiotic?
Model answer
An antibiotic that inhibits bacterial growth and reproduction without directly killing the bacteria.
- 3
Name an example of a bactericidal antibiotic.
Model answer
Penicillin.
- 4
Which enzyme does penicillin inhibit?
Model answer
Transpeptidase.
- 5
What is the function of transpeptidase in bacteria?
Model answer
It cross-links peptidoglycan chains in bacterial cell walls.
- 6
Explain why inhibition of transpeptidase by penicillin leads to bacterial death.
Model answer
Without transpeptidase, new cell wall cannot form properly during cell division; the weakened cell wall ruptures due to osmotic lysis.
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