The World of Bacteria
What does a bacterium look like? Internal Structures: cytoplasm nucleoid ribosomes Boundaries: cell membrane cell wall capsule Appendages: flagellum pili
Shapes of Bacteria
Bacteria Identification Criteria Shapes Bacilli Cocci Sprilli Growth Patterns “Prefixes describe pattern” “strepto…. Means in chains “staphylo…Means in clusters Examples: Streptococcus pneumoniae
Bacterial Growth Patterns: Streptococcus
Bacterial Growth Patterns: Staphylococcus
The Gram Stain Christian Gram (1884) develops gram staining process. Use of two stains: crystal violet and safranine Stains interact differently with a particular type of cell wall. Cells will be either Gram positive or Gram negative.
How else are bacteria identified? Another criterion? Composition and Construction of the Cell Wall
Gram Negative The Gram-negative cell wall is composed of a thin, inner layer of peptidoglycan and an outer membrane consisting of molecules of phospholipids, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), lipoproteins and sutface proteins. The lipopolysaccharide consists of lipid A and O polysaccharide.
Gram Staining Process What color are gram positive? What color are gram negative?
Which is Gram positive? Which is Gram negative? Gram negative: A group of bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet dye after the differential staining procedure known as Gram staining. They appear pink due to the counterstain, safranin. Gram positive appears purple. The difference between Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria is the cell wall structure, which accounts for the different staining characteristics
Gram Positive Gram Negative So what is the medical significance of this technique? The Gram Stain Results:
How Bacteria Talk by Bonnie Blasser