How does the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria provide evidence for evolution?

A population of bacteria will have lots of variation in characteristics due to mutations in the DNA that each bacteria contains. Some of those mutations may allow a bacteria to be resistant to an antibiotic such as penicillin. If the bacteria are exposed to penicillin, then the bacteria which have the resistance mutations will be more likely to survive and reproduce than those without them, and will pass on their resistance to their offspring. This change in the resistance of the population to antibiotics is an example of evolution.Because bacteria reproduce at such a high rate, we can observe and track the evolution of resistance to antibiotics over really short time scales, much shorter than tracking the evolution of characteristics like size in larger species like humans. Furthermore, we can show that antiobiotic resistance evolves as we would expect from Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection.

Answered by Laurence B. Biology tutor

2670 Views

See similar Biology GCSE tutors

Related Biology GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is the difference between cells, tissues, organs and organ systems?


Compare the structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.


Describe 2 ways the body prevents the entry of microorganisms.


Describe what cell differentiation is and provide an example of a cell that undergoes differentiation.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences