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A Gram stain of mixed Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus ATCC 25923, gram-positive cocci, in purple) and Escherichia coli (E. coli ATCC 11775, gram-negative bacilli, in red), the most common Gram stain reference bacteria. Gram stain (Gram staining or Gram's method), is a method of staining used to classify bacterial species into two large groups ...
In Berlin, in 1884, Gram developed a method for distinguishing between two major classes of bacteria. [1] This technique, known as Gram staining, continues to be a standard procedure of medical microbiology. This work gained Gram an international reputation. The staining method later played a major role in classifying bacteria. Gram was a ...
A Gram stain is performed to show Gram-positive cocci in chains. Then, the organism is cultured on blood agar. The rapid pyrrolidonyl arylamidase (PYR) test is commonly used, wherein a positive reaction confers a presumptive identification of group A beta-hemolytic streptococci if the appearance and clinical context is consistent.
Gram-positive bacteria have a thick layer of peptidoglycan within the cell wall, and Gram-negative bacteria have a thin layer of peptidoglycan. Gram-positive bacteria take up the crystal violet stain used in the test, and then appear to be purple-coloured when seen through an optical microscope.
A Ziehl–Neelsen stain is an acid-fast stain used to stain species of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that do not stain with the standard laboratory staining procedures such as Gram staining. This stain is performed through the use of both red coloured carbol fuchsin that stains the bacteria and a counter stain such as methylene blue.
The names originate from the reaction of cells to the Gram stain, a long-standing test for the classification of bacterial species. [77] Gram-positive bacteria possess a thick cell wall containing many layers of peptidoglycan and teichoic acids.
These acids resist staining by ordinary methods such as a Gram stain. [9] It can also be used to stain a few other bacteria, such as Nocardia. The reagents used for Ziehl–Neelsen staining are carbol fuchsin, acid alcohol, and methylene blue. Acid-fast bacilli are bright red after staining. [citation needed]
Under gram staining, C. difficile cells are gram-positive and show optimum growth on blood agar at human body temperatures in the absence of oxygen. When stressed, the bacteria produce spores that are able to tolerate extreme conditions that the active bacteria cannot tolerate.