easy · MCAT bio-biochem
A bacterial population develops resistance to an antibiotic after a few weeks of exposure.
Which of the following best describes the evolutionary mechanism responsible for this change?
- Individual bacteria in the population learned to adapt to the drug by altering their wall structure.
- The bacteria underwent horizontal gene flow with a nearby eukaryotic population, directly acquiring resistance.
- The antibiotic itself directly induced beneficial mutations in the bacterial cells, allowing them to survive exposure.
- The antibiotic acted as a selective pressure, allowing pre-existing resistant variants to survive and reproduce.
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