Question

Penicillin halts bacterial infections

A. by stimulating a person's immune system.
B. by damaging the cell membrane.
C. by interfering with the construction of the cell wall.
D. by causing the DNA of a bacterium to mutate.
E. All answers are correct.

Answer 1

Penicillin halts bacterial infections by interfering with the synthesis of cell walls in reproducing bacteria.

Step-by-step explanation:

Penicillin functions by interfering with the synthesis of cell walls of reproducing bacteria. It does so by inhibiting an enzyme-transpeptidase that catalyzes the last step in bacterial cell-wall biosynthesis. The defective walls cause bacterial cells to burst. Human cells are not affected because they have cell membranes, not cell walls.