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Gram-negative cell wall structure Gram-positive and -negative bacteria are differentiated chiefly by their cell wall structure. Conventional gram-negative (LPS-diderm) bacteria display the following characteristics: [citation needed] An inner cell membrane is present (cytoplasmic)
The Gram-negative cell wall contains a thinner peptidoglycan layer adjacent to the cytoplasmic membrane than the Gram-positive wall, which is responsible for the cell wall's inability to retain the crystal violet stain upon decolourisation with ethanol during Gram staining.
Gram-negative cell walls are much thinner than the Gram-positive cell walls, and they contain a second plasma membrane superficial to their thin peptidoglycan layer, in turn adjacent to the cytoplasmic membrane. Gram-negative bacteria stain as pink in the Gram stain.
According to some definitions, the term is used to describe Gram-negative bacteria. [3] [4] According to other definitions, the term also encompasses yeasts. [5] [6] The name spheroplast stems from the fact that after the microbe's cell wall is digested, membrane tension causes the cell to acquire a characteristic spherical shape. [4]
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 ...
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.
In 1962, R.G.E. Murray proposed to divide the "kingdom" (now domain [8]) Bacteria into three divisions (= phyla) on the basis of the cell wall types: Gram-negative Gracilicutes, with a thin cell wall and little peptidoglycan; Gram-positive Firmicutes, with a thicker cell wall and more peptidoglycan (the name was later changed in "Firmicutes"), and
Mycoplasma is a genus of bacteria that, like the other members of the class Mollicutes, lack a cell wall, and its peptidoglycan, around their cell membrane. [1] The absence of peptidoglycan makes them naturally resistant to antibiotics such as the beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis.