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The decolorization step is critical and must be timed correctly; the crystal violet stain is removed from both gram-positive and negative cells if the decolorizing agent is left on too long (a matter of seconds). [19] After decolorization, the gram-positive cell remains purple and the gram-negative cell loses its purple color. [19]
Both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria commonly have a surface layer called an S-layer. In gram-positive bacteria, the S-layer is attached to the peptidoglycan layer. Gram-negative bacteria's S-layer is attached directly to the outer membrane. Specific to gram-positive bacteria is the presence of teichoic acids in the cell wall. Some of ...
Gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer in their cell wall, which retains the crystal violet during Gram staining, resulting in a purple color. Gram-negative bacteria have a thin peptidoglycan layer which does not retain the crystal violet, so when safranin is added during the process, they stain red.
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.
There is no connection between the shape of a bacterium and its color upon Gram staining; there are both gram-positive rods and gram-negative rods. MacConkey agar can be used to distinguish among gram-negative bacilli such as E. coli and salmonella. [23]
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 ...
The reason bacteria are either Gram-positive or Gram-negative is due to the structure of their cell envelope. (The cell envelope is defined as the cell membrane and cell wall plus an outer membrane, if one is present.) Gram-positive bacteria, for example, retain the crystal violet due to the amount of peptidoglycan in the cell wall.
Although L-forms can develop from Gram-positive as well as from Gram-negative bacteria, in a Gram stain test, the L-forms always colour Gram-negative, due to the lack of a cell wall. The cell wall is important for cell division, which, in most bacteria, occurs by binary fission.