Final answer:
The imprudent and excessive use of antibiotics has led to the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing a global health threat. Furthermore, not all prokaryotes are harmful; many are beneficial to human health and the environment.
Step-by-step explanation:
Antibiotic Resistance
The imprudent and excessive use of antibiotics has selected for resistant strains of bacteria. When antibiotics are used, they kill susceptible bacteria, while bacteria with resistance genes survive and proliferate. This problem is exacerbated by using antibiotics to treat viral infections, where they have no effect, and by their overuse in agriculture. The resulting antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major global health threat, as infections become more difficult to treat.
Beneficial Prokaryotes
Contrary to the belief that all prokaryotes are harmful, many are actually beneficial and vital to human health and the environment. In the human body, various prokaryotic species form a microbiome that aids in digestion and immune function. Environmentally, prokaryotes are used in bioremediation to clean pollutants, and they are crucial in nutrient cycles. Thus, not all prokaryotes are pathogenic; many are essential to sustaining life on Earth.