An amino sugar called N-acetylmuramic acid is an important building block of the cell wall of some bacteria. Penicillin prevents this amino sugar from being incorporated into the bacterial cell wall. Therefore,
A) penicillin affects bacteria but not eukaryotes because eukaryotic cell walls are different.
B) bacterial cells that had already formed their cell walls would be unaffected.
C) penicillin would stop the growth of active colonies of susceptible bacteria.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Penicillin prevents the incorporation of N-acetylmuramic acid into the bacterial cell wall. This affects bacteria but not eukaryotes because eukaryotic cell walls are different. Bacterial cells that had already formed their cell walls would be unaffected, but penicillin would stop the growth of active colonies of susceptible bacteria. Therefore, all the choices are correct.

An Amino Sugar Called N-Acetylmuramic Acid Is an Important Building