Antibiotic resistance is possible because bacteria are able to exchange genetic material through a process known as bacterial conjugation. In one experiment, resistance to tetracycline (a commonly used antibiotic) was studied in Escherichia coli by introducing a tetracycline-resistant bacterium to a tetracycline-sensitive strain. The resistant bacterium’s genome contained a protein called an “efflux pump”, a polypeptide that localizes to the cell membrane and expels certain small molecules from the cell. Using fluorescent marking, researchers observed the DNA encoding one specific efflux pump in between a resistant bacterium and a sensitive bacterium. With live-cell microscopy, they tracked the fluorescence to see how the DNA migrated from one cell to another and how it was incorporated and expressed in the recipient bacterium.

(Fonte: Sophie Nolivos e outros, Science, Washington, v. 364, n. 6442, p. 778-782, maio 2019.)

Com base no texto e em seus conhecimentos, assinale a alternativa correta.