What effect would inbreeding have on antibiotic resistance?
Bacteria reproduce asexually and each of their offspring are clones of the parent. If one bacteria is antibiotic resistant and another is not, then the inbred or cloned offspring on the resistant bacteria will be the ones to survive in the presence of antibiotics. However, if the antibiotic is altered to attack the previously resistant bacteria then all clones of this bacteria will no longer be resistant and will die. As long as bacteria are constantly mutating there will almost always be an antibiotic resistant strain.
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