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Microbiology · Chapter 9

The Five Antibiotic Targets

An antibacterial drug works by striking a part the bacterium needs to live. The best targets are parts your own cells do not have. There are only five of them. Pick one, send the drug in, and step through the hit. Watch the cell fail, and check whether a human cell owns the same target.

The bacterial cellpick a target, then step the drug in

A bacterial cell with its five drug targets
Tap any numbered target on the cell. 1 is the cell wall. 2 is the ribosome. 3 is the DNA machinery. 4 is the folate pathway. 5 is the membrane.
Does a human cell own this target?
Five drug targetspick one from the list
Cell survives
yes
Kills or stalls
—
Human target
—