Final answer:
In Bacterial Transformation, if the DNA taken up includes antibiotic resistance genes, the bacterium becomes resistant to antibiotics. This genetic material is made single-stranded to avoid degradation by nucleases, allowing it to recombine with the cell's own DNA.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the process of Bacterial Transformation, what happens to the cell when the DNA is released? The correct answer is D)It becomes resistant to antibiotics. After the transformation process, if the DNA taken up by the bacterial cell includes genes for antibiotic resistance, the bacterium can become resistant to antibiotics. This is because transformation allows a bacterium to take up foreign DNA from its environment, which may include genes that confer survival advantages such as antibiotic resistance or the ability to metabolize new substrates.
Why do bacterial cells make environmental DNA single-stranded when brought into the cell? The single-stranded DNA is less susceptible to attack by nucleases that exist within the cell to defend against viral infection. This DNA can then recombine with the cell's own genome, potentially providing new phenotypic traits such as resistance to antibiotics.