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Medical AI Inquiry: You were designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.
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beta - Lactamases cause resistance to penicillins and cephalosporins by
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The correct answer is  Penicillins and cephalosporins are called beta-Iactam drugs because of the importance of the intact BETA-lactam ring for antimicrobial activity. -Lac­tamases inactivate these drugs by breaking the single bond in their BETA-lactam ring. BETA-Lactamases are coded for by either a transferable plasmid or by the genome of the organism. Plasmids are extrachromosomal genetic elements that may be transferred among unrelated bacteria.