Which antibiotic is known to inhibit the interaction between tRNA and mRNA during bacterial protein synthesis?

Tetracycline is the antibiotic that is known to inhibit the interaction between tRNA and mRNA during bacterial protein synthesis. It achieves this by binding to the 30S ribosomal subunit, preventing the attachment of aminoacyl-tRNA to the mRNA-ribosome complex. This action effectively halts the translation process, which is crucial for bacterial growth and reproduction.

While neomycin is also an aminoglycoside antibiotic that affects bacterial protein synthesis, its mechanism of action differs as it primarily causes misreading of the mRNA. Penicillin, on the other hand, targets bacterial cell wall synthesis and does not interfere with protein synthesis. Streptomycin is another aminoglycoside that primarily works by causing misreading of the mRNA, similar to neomycin, and also affects the 30S ribosomal subunit but in a different way than tetracycline.

Thus, tetracycline specifically inhibits the crucial step involving the interaction of tRNA and mRNA, making it the correct choice in this context.