Biology (and other Life Sciences)
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Paper instructions:
Write an essay about the structural differences between Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria cell walls. Explain what would happen to the cell wall’s physical integrity while applying the Gram staining technique.
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Use APA guidelines for proper citations.
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Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteria Cell Walls
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Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteria Cell Walls
Structural Differences
Gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria cell walls comprise various structural differences due to the cell wall properties. Gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan cell wall. It has no out-lipid membrane (Pulingam et al., 2019). It is unlike the gram-negative bacteria cell that has a thin peptidoglycan cell wall and outer lipid membrane. The outer shell of the gram-positive cell has a cell thickness of (20–80 nm) while the gram-negative cell wall has a thickness of less than 10nm (Pulingam et al., 2019). Despite the thickness of the gram-negative bacteria cell wall, it has an extra outer membrane. The membrane comprises several pores and appendices.
Gram-positive bacteria have a purple appearance after gram staining. The purple color occurs due to the purple crystal violet stain in the thick cell wall. Researchers can use a microscope to see the gram-stained purple color of some listeria species, all staphylococci, and streptococci (Pajerski et al., 2019). Conversely, gram-negative has a pale-reddish color due to gram-staining. One of the reasons is that the cell cannot retain the crystal violet stain (Pajerski et al., 2019).
Gram-positive bacteria have a complex cell wall surrounding the cytoplasmic membrane. The wall can quickly absorb foreign material. The cell wall consists of proteins, teichoic acids, polysaccharides, and peptidoglycan (Al-Sharqi et al., 2019). The gram-positive bacteria have a thick peptidoglycan layer. The peptidoglycan comprises 40 to 80 layers of thickness. Additionally, gram-positive bacteria include surface appendages such as flagella which are vital in movement (Al-Sharqi et al., 2019). It is rare to find gram-positive bacteria with pili-hair-like structures.
The gram-negative bacteria cell wall has some distinctive features since it is hard to penetrate the wall, unlike gram-positive bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria have extra protection in the cell membrane (Al-Sharqi et al., 2019). The strong outer membrane makes the cell hard to destroy. The conditions caused by the two types of bacteria are different due to their unique structural characteristics (Pulingam et al., 2019). The two types of bacteria can cause illnesses and will require antibiotics for treatment.
Gram-staining Procedure
The gram-staining procedure involves staining the bacteria with crystal violet dye. One of the decolorizers, such as ethyl alcohol, is added to dehydrate the outer layer. The peptidoglycan reacts to the staining procedure by retaining the color, changing the color, shrinking, or tightening (Pulingam et al., 2019). A counterstain is added to the sample to make it stain red. Gram-staining is effective in determining the chemical composition of the cell wall. The results of the staining can be positive or negative depending on the type of the cell wall. Identifying the bacteria’s chemical makeup creates an opportunity for a researcher to manipulate the bacteria (Pulingam et al., 2019). The gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria cell walls react differently to the staining procedure. Gram-positive bacteria cell walls such as some listeria species, all staphylococci, and all streptococci appear purple after the gram staining. The purple crystal violet stain is retained, unlike in the gram-negative cell wall (Pajerski et al., 2019). The grain staining procedure converts gram-negative cell walls into pale-reddish colors.
Conclusion
The distinctive features of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria are the thickness of the cell walls and the presence of the outer lipid membrane. The wall structure affects the color of the cell membrane and the ability to retain crystal violet stain during the Gram staining procedure. The gram-staining procedure determines the appropriate treatment to be used after determining the type of bacteria present.
References
Al-Sharqi, A., Apun, K., Vincent, M., Kanakaraju, D., & Bilung, L. M. (2019). Enhancement of the antibacterial efficiency of silver nanoparticles against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria using blue laser light. International Journal of Photoenergy, 2019.
Pajerski, W., Ochonska, D., Brzychczy-Wloch, M., Indyka, P., Jarosz, M., Golda-Cepa, M., … & Kotarba, A. (2019). Attachment efficiency of gold nanoparticles by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains governed by surface charges. Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 21(8), 1-12.
Pulingam, T., Thong, K. L., Ali, M. E., Appaturi, J. N., Dinshaw, I. J., Ong, Z. Y., & Leo, B. F. (2019). Graphene oxide exhibits differential mechanistic action towards Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, 181, 6-15.
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