An agent would make a good antibiotic if it affected a structure or process only found in bacterial cells and not in our (eukaryotic)cells.Which of the following actions would theoretically make a good antibiotic?
A)prevents repair of the peptidoglycan cell wall
B)damages the nuclear membrane
C)damages DNA
D)prevents ribosomes from producing proteins
E)stops cellular respiration

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Preventing the repair of the peptidoglycan cell wall is a good choice for an antibiotic because the cell wall is unique to bacterial cells and not found in eukaryotic cells, so this would target only the bacteria and not harm our own cells. Damaging the nuclear membrane (B) and DNA (C) would harm both bacterial and eukaryotic cells since they both have these structures. Preventing ribosomes from producing proteins (D) and stopping cellular respiration (E) would also harm eukaryotic cells since they depend on protein synthesis and cellular respiration to function.

An Agent Would Make a Good Antibiotic If It Affected