Question

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat bacterial infections in humans. Some antibiotics work by interfering with the bacteria’s ribosomes. Other antibiotics work by interfering with the bacteria’s plasma membrane.

a. Describe the function of the ribosomes and explain why interfering with the ribosomes would kill the bacteria.

b. Describe the function of the plasma membrane and explain why interfering with the plasma membrane would kill the bacteria.

Medicines called antifungals are used to treat infections caused by fungi. One way antifungals work is by targeting cell parts that are present in fungal cells but not in human cells.

c. Identify one cell part other than a ribosome or a plasma membrane that human cells and fungal cells have in common.

d. Describe what would happen to a human cell if the cell part you identified in part (c) were affected by an antifungal. Explain your answer based on the function of the cell part.

Answer 1

see below

Step-by-step explanation:

a. The parts of a cell called ribosomes are where proteins are created. They employ messenger RNA's genetic code to construct a chain of amino acids that will eventually fold into a particular protein. By interfering with the ribosomes, the bacteria would be unable to produce the proteins necessary for survival, which would result in their eventual death.

b.The plasma membrane is the cell's outermost layer of lipids and proteins. It serves as a barrier to restrict the flow of substances into and out of the cell. The capacity of the cell to maintain a healthy internal environment and interact with its surroundings would be disrupted by interference with the plasma membrane, which would ultimately result in the death of the bacterium.

c. Mitochondria are not a cell part that is present in both human cells and fungal cells. Fungal cells do not have mitochondria. Instead, they have other organelles called mitochondria-related organelles (MROs) that perform similar functions. I apologize for any confusion caused.

d. Through cellular respiration, mitochondria are organelles that create energy in the form of ATP. An antifungal would interfere with the cell's capacity to create energy and eventually kill it if it were to impact the mitochondria. Without energy, the human cell will perish since its metabolism won't function.