Question

Ciprofloxacin is a type of antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections. It kills bacteria by stopping a bacterial enzyme called DNA-gyrase from working. This enzyme is involved in replicating the DNA of the bacteria. If eukaryotes had this same enzyme, what phase of the cell cycle would ciprofloxacin most likely impact?

A. S phase
B. Mitosis
C. G1
D. Cytokinesis

Answer 1

Ciprofloxacin would impact the S phase of the cell cycle in eukaryotic cells by inhibiting DNA replication, akin to its effect on bacterial DNA gyrase in treating infections.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ciprofloxacin is an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone class that inhibits the action of bacterial DNA gyrase, an enzyme critical for the replication of bacterial DNA. If eukaryotic cells had an analogous enzyme to bacterial DNA gyrase, ciprofloxacin would most likely impact the S phase of the cell cycle because this is the phase when DNA replication occurs. Inhibition of DNA replication by drugs like ciprofloxacin effectively treats bacterial infections by preventing the proliferation of the offending pathogens.