A 57-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital with an infected toe, and the infection was spreading rapidly. The damage was being caused by an unknown microorganism that could not be cultured in the lab. Doctors observed that antibiotics, which kill only prokaryotes, were ineffective. They suspected that the microbe was a fungus, so they tried the drug Amphotericin, which targets the ergosterols in fungal cells. Because animal cells contain cholesterols, not ergosterols, they are unaffected by the drug. Shortly after receiving Amphotericin, the patient improved, her infection ceased, and she was released from the hospital. In this scenario, what was the hypothesis?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The hypothesis in this scenario is that antibiotics will not kill the microbe because it is a fungal species. This hypothesis is supported by the observation that antibiotics, which only kill prokaryotes, were ineffective in treating the infection. The doctors suspected that the microbe was a fungus, and their hypothesis was confirmed when the patient improved after receiving Amphotericin, a drug that targets ergosterols in fungal cells.

A 57-Year-Old Woman Was Admitted to a Hospital with an Infected