Mutations can result in antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Resistant bacteria survive antibiotic treatment and can increase in numbers by natural selection.
Mutations
Bacteria grow and multiply fast and can reach large numbers. When bacteria multiply, one cell divides into two cells. Before the bacterium can divide, it needs to make two identical copies of the DNA in its chromosome; one for each cell. Every time the bacterium goes through this process there is a chance (or risk, depending on the end result) that errors occur; so-called mutations. These mutations are random and can be located anywhere in the DNA. Mutations can also form due to external factors like radiation or harmful chemicals.
Natural selection
While some mutations are harmful to the bacteria, others can provide an advantage given the right circumstances. Here, Darwin’s theory of natural selection comes in. If a mutation gives the bacterium an advantage in a particular environment, this bacterium will grow better than its neighbors and can increase in numbers – it is selected for.
Mutations can provide resistance to antibiotics
Mutations are one way for bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. Some spontaneous mutations (or genes that have been acquired from other bacteria through horizontal gene transfer) may make the bacterium resistant to an antibiotic (See: Resistance mechanisms for information about how bacteria resist antibiotic action). If we were to treat the bacterial population with that specific antibiotic, only the resistant bacteria will be able to multiply; the antibiotic selects for them. These bacteria can now increase in numbers and the end result is a population of mainly resistant bacteria.
It is important to understand that selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria can occur anywhere an antibiotic is present at a selective concentration. When we treat an infection, selection can occur at any site in the body to which the antibiotic reaches. Thus, the antibiotic can select for resistance genes and mechanisms in both pathogenic bacteria and in commensal bacteria living in the body that have nothing to do with the infection in question. By using narrow-spectrum antibiotics (when possible), the risk of selecting for antibiotic resistance in the commensal flora decreases.
Selected Resources
| Resource | Description |
| Emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria | Video. Narrated presentation from ReAct that describes how bacteria develop resistance and how bacteria can spread. |
| A cinematic approach to drug resistance | Video that visualizes the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in real time, using a giant petri dish with different concentrations of antibiotics. With explanatory article. |
| The rise in antibiotic resistance | Animation of selection of resistant bacteria in the body, some resistance mechanisms and how they may spread. |
| What causes antibiotic resistance? | Video. This animated TED-Ed video gives an overview of how antibiotics function, how bacteria evolve to resist their action and how selection of resistant bacteria works (5 min). Also available in Spanish. |
| Antibiotic Resistance Explained | Video that explains selection and spread of antibiotic resistance in an easy to understand manner. |
| Mutations – selection: the bacteria resist | Video about natural selection of antibiotic resistant bacteria (5 min). Also embedded in text above. |