Because of overuse of antibiotics and/or weakened governmental surveillance of infectious disease, several diseasesthat had been thought to be no longer a threat to humanhealth (e.g., pneumonia and tuberculosis) are rapidly becoming unmanageable. In several instances, so-called superbugs(microorganisms that are resistant to almost all known antibiotics) have been detected. How did this circumstancearise? What will happen if this process continues?
Genetic Recombination
Recombination is crucial to this process because it allows genes to be reassorted into diverse combinations. Genetic recombination is the process of combining genetic components from two different origins into a single unit. In prokaryotes, genetic recombination takes place by the unilateral transfer of deoxyribonucleic acid. It includes transduction, transformation, and conjugation. The genetic exchange occurring between homologous deoxyribonucleic acid sequences (DNA) from two different sources is termed general recombination. For this to happen, an identical sequence of the two recombining molecules is required. The process of genetic exchange which occurs in eukaryotes during sexual reproduction such as meiosis is an example of this type of genetic recombination.
Microbial Genetics
Genes are the functional units of heredity. They transfer characteristic information from parents to the offspring.
Because of overuse of antibiotics and/or weakened governmental surveillance of infectious disease, several diseases
that had been thought to be no longer a threat to human
health (e.g., pneumonia and tuberculosis) are rapidly becoming unmanageable. In several instances, so-called superbugs
(microorganisms that are resistant to almost all known antibiotics) have been detected. How did this circumstance
arise? What will happen if this process continues?
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