What different characteristic(s) exist between the two groups that allow for the
ID: 132024 • Letter: W
Question
What different characteristic(s) exist between the two groups that allow for the different staining conditions? Why was the Gram iodine was added to the Gram staining procedure? Why is a counterstain (safranin) added to the Gram staining procedure? What are the advantages of performing a Gram stain versus a simple stain for visualizing bacteria? Did you experience any technical difficulties or atypical results during this lab? If so, what happened? Why do you think they occurred? How could you avoid these issues in the future?
Explanation / Answer
What different characteristic(s) exist between the two groups that allow for the different staining conditions?
The different composition of the cell walls of bacteria allow for the differential staining conditions. Gram positibe cell wall have many layers of peptidoglycan which forms a thick rigid structure along with techoic acids and phosphate.
On the other hand, the cell wall of gram negative bacteria is thin with one or very few layers of peptidoglycan which is covalently bonded to the protein in the outer membrane. Gram negative cell walls do not contain techoic acid.
Why was the Gram iodine was added to the Gram staining procedure?
Gram's Iodine is used to form a complex with crystal violet and hence used as mordant in gram staining technique. Iodine when combines with crystal violet forms an insolube compund and helps in fixing the dye.
Why is a counterstain (safranin) added to the Gram staining procedure?
Safranin is the secondary or counterstain in gram staining procedure which will be taken up by the gram negative cells making them appear pink in color while gram positive bacteria take up the primary stain crystal violet and appear purple in color.
What are the advantages of performing a Gram stain versus a simple stain for visualizing bacteria?
Did you experience any technical difficulties or atypical results during this lab? If so, what happened? Why do you think they occurred?
How could you avoid these issues in the future?
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