Answer to Question #16615 in Microbiology for Sara

Question

How could you interrupt bacterial translation without affecting human cell translation?

Answer 1

Many of the antibiotics used in humans and other animals to treat bacterial infections specifically inhibit ribosome activity in the disease-causing bacteria, without affecting ribosome function in the host-animal's cells. These antibiotics work by binding to a protein or RNA target in the bacterial ribosome and inhibiting translation.