Question

a non - staph bacterium that is resistant to penicillin and a staph bacterium are found in the same host. after the bacteria grow and replicate, it is found that the staph bacteria is now penicillin resistant. this is likely due to ______ between the two bacteria.

• gene transfer
• mutations and acquiring new alleles
• mutations, acquiring new alleles, and gene transfer.
• acquiring new alleles
• mutations

Explanation:

The non-staph bacterium already has penicillin resistance. For the staph bacterium to gain this resistance after coexisting in the same host, the most likely mechanism is the transfer of the resistance gene from the non-staph to the staph bacterium. Mutations are random and less likely to produce the exact resistance trait in the staph bacterium coincidentally, while gene transfer directly explains the acquisition of existing resistance from another bacterium.

Answer:

gene transfer