Question

Antimicrobial agents that damage nucleic acids also affect 73) ______

A) the cell membrane.
B) the viral envelope.
C) endospores.
D) the cell wall.
E) protein synthesis.

Answer 1

Antimicrobial agents that damage nucleic acids primarily affect protein synthesis in the cell, as nucleic acids provide the instructions for creating proteins.

Step-by-step explanation:

Antimicrobial agents that damage nucleic acids affect protein synthesis. This is because they disrupt the processes necessary for the construction of proteins which are encoded by the nucleic acids. An agent that injures DNA or RNA in a cell will inhibit its ability to synthesize proteins, as the genetic instructions for building proteins are contained within these nucleic acids. Therefore, among the given options, protein synthesis (E) is affected when nucleic acids are damaged by antimicrobial agents.