My AP Biology Thoughts  Unit 7 Natural Selection EPISODE TITLE: Antibiotic Resistance Welcome to My AP Biology Thoughts podcast, I am Emily Greenberg and I am Angelina Graf and we will be your hosts for “Unit 7 Heredity: Examples of Evolution-antibiotic resistance”. In episode 113, we will be discussing antibiotic resistance and how it relates to the AP Biology Curriculum. Segment 1: Overview of antibiotic resistanceAntibiotics are drugs that fight infections that are caused by bacteriaAntibiotic resistance is when bacteria and germs build up resistance to the medications that are meant to kill themAntibiotic resistant germs are often very difficult to treat and dangerous infections can emergeA common misconception is that antibiotic resistance means that the body is resisting antibiotics, however it is actually the bacteria that is becoming resistant to antibioticsOveruse of antibiotics is one of the main causes of antibiotic resistanceSegment 2: Evidence that supports antibiotic resistance Antibiotics also kill good bacteria that help to protect the body from infectionAntibiotic resistant germs can spread throughout healthcare facilities, the environment, and other communities.The action of an antibiotic is an environmental pressure Species have to adapt and evolve in order to survive these pressuresWe know that evolution is happening because bacterial infections can continue to spread even with the presence of antibioticsPenicillin resistance: In WWI, penicillin treatment was used to treat the wounded and by some smaller civilian populationsBiochemists began reporting resistance to it before the war was over and found a penicillin-inactivating enzyme secreted from a particular bacteria.Over the next few decades, overuse and repeated exposure to antibiotics helped the selection and replication of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteriaSegment 3: Connection to the CourseAntibiotic resistance evolves as a result of natural selection and genetic mutationBacteria that develop mutations that are resistant to antibiotics are more likely to survive and reproduce; this means that they are more fitIf resistant bacteria reproduce with other resistant bacteria, their offspring will be fully resistant and this trait will become more frequent in the gene pool