Question

You have discovered several new antimicrobial compounds that inhibit bacterial growth and are effective as antibiotics. You have also determined the specific bacterial cellular target for each.

a. Based on your knowledge of replication, transcription, and translation and the differences in how these processes occur in prokaryotes vs. eukaryotes indicate which of these three genetic processes each compound will directly inhibit and justify your answers using specific details.

Compound A   is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme primase

Compound B   blocks the binding of t-RNA-fMet to the 50s ribosome

Compound C   binds to the specific promoter sequences at -10 and -25 and blocks sigma factors from binding.

Compound D   is a pyrimidine base analog, dideoxythymine, that acts as a chain terminator

b. Also indicate which compound(s) could potentially harm the host (human) cells and indicate why.

Answer 1

Compound A inhibit replication as primase is necessary in DNA replication for adding primer.

Compound B block translation in prokaryotic cell.

Compound C block transcription in prokaryotic cell as sigma factor recognize this site as promoter and help binding of RNA polymerase on it.

Compound d block replication as no further DNA base can be added in chain.

Both B and C affect prokaryotic cell.

A and D affect human cell(eukaryotic).

1st one inhibitor affect the cell more as DNA replication is inhibited.