bacterial cells are markedly different from eukaryotic cells in many aspects. di
ID: 262026 • Letter: B
Question
bacterial cells are markedly different from eukaryotic cells in many aspects. differences in these cells are the foundation of drug development as researchers look for ways to combat bacterial infections in humans. For this units discussion , imagine that you have been asked to design a drug that will target and destroy a broad spectrum of bacterial. you will need to identify two cellular parts of a prokaryotic cell (e.g, ribosomes, etc.) as targets for this drug
1. what two cellular structures would you target? why did you choose these targets?
2. would your drug be harmful to human cells? why or why Not?
3. would this drug also be effective against parasitic and fungal infections? why or why not?
Explanation / Answer
1. The targets are to be such that it must be present only in prokaryotes and not in the human system. One of the targets will be Ribosome, 30s subunit. The ribosomes have different subunits in prokaryotes and in eukaryotes. The prokaryotes have the 30s and 50S subunits, whereas the eukaryotes have 40s and 60s. hence this is a target.
Another target can be cell wall. The prokaryotes specifically have the cell wall.
These targets do not harm the human, as ribosome subunits are different in humans and cell wall is not present in humans.
The ribosome targeting drug will not be effective against parasites and fungal infections, as they are eukaryotes and have different ribosome subunit.
The cell wall targeting drug can be effective against fungal infections, as they do have the cell wall.
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