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Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that, unlike gram-positive bacteria, do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. [1] Their defining characteristic is that their cell envelope consists of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall sandwiched between an inner ( cytoplasmic ) membrane and an outer ...
Bacteria within the Deinococcota group may also exhibit Gram-positive staining but contain some cell wall structures typical of Gram-negative bacteria. The cell wall of some Gram-positive bacteria can be completely dissolved by lysozymes which attack the bonds between N-acetylmuramic acid and N-acetylglucosamine.
The composition of the outer membrane is distinct from that of the inner cytoplasmic cell membrane - among other things, the outer leaflet of the outer membrane of many gram-negative bacteria includes a complex lipopolysaccharide whose lipid portion acts as an endotoxin - and in some bacteria such as E. coli it is linked to the cell's ...
The highly charged nature of lipopolysaccharides confer an overall negative charge to the Gram -negative cell wall. The chemical structure of the outer membrane lipopolysaccharides is often unique to specific bacterial strains (i.e. sub-species) and is responsible for many of the antigenic properties of these strains.
Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a Gram-negative coccobacillus prevalent in subgingival plaques. Acinetobacter strains may grow on solid media as coccobacilli. Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative coccobacillus responsible for causing whooping cough. Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, is also coccobacillus. [26]
Gram staining differentiates bacteria by the chemical and physical properties of their cell walls. Gram-positive cells have a thick layer of peptidoglycan in the cell wall that retains the primary stain, crystal violet. Gram-negative cells have a thinner peptidoglycan layer that allows the crystal violet to wash out on addition of ethanol.
A number of other bacteria which are bounded by a single membrane but stain gram-negative due to either lack of the peptidoglycan layer (viz., mycoplasmas) or their inability to retain the Gram-stain due to their cell wall composition, also show close relationship to the Gram-positive bacteria.
Labeled diagram showing differences in the outer cell walls of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria cell walls. British English A labelled diagram showing the differences in outercell layers between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria.