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GCSE Biology · key term
The ability of an organism to survive exposure to a substance that would normally kill it; antibiotic-resistant bacteria can survive an antibiotic that kills susceptible bacteria.
Used by Edexcel
Specification 4.3 · Paper 1
Revise: Resistant OrganismsA bacterial population is not necessarily made up of identical individuals: mutations in DNA can produce inherited differences, including resistance. The mutation arises by chance, not because a bacterium needs to survive treatment.
When explaining resistance, follow the sequence: inherited variation → antibiotic exposure → survival of resistant bacteria → reproduction → a larger resistant proportion.
Do not say that an antibiotic causes bacteria to mutate because they need resistance, or that individual bacteria become resistant through practice.
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