Question

name one antibiotic that specifically inhibits bacterial transcription but not eukaryotic transcription, and one that inhibits both.

Answer 1

Rifampin specifically inhibits bacterial transcription but not eukaryotic transcription, while cycloheximide inhibits both.

Step-by-step explanation:

One antibiotic that specifically inhibits bacterial transcription but not eukaryotic transcription is rifampin, which is a member of the rifamycin family. Rifampin blocks RNA polymerase activity in bacteria, which is structurally different from that in eukaryotes, providing selective toxicity against bacterial cells.

An antibiotic that inhibits both bacterial and eukaryotic transcription is cycloheximide. It targets the peptidyl transferase enzyme of eukaryotic ribosomes, inhibiting protein synthesis in both bacterial and eukaryotic cells.