Quantitative analysis of the Gram reaction.

SUMMARY: The crystal violet and iodine uptake by suspensions of Staphylococcus aurcus and Escherichia coli was determined. It was found that equal amounts of intracellular dye-iodine complex were formed in these micro-organisms. The molar ratio dye to iodine was 1:2. The extractability of this complex with methanol and ethanol was compared with the relative solubility of dye-iodine precipitates. Results with E. coli suggest that the solvents pass freely into the cells and decolorize them after dissociation of the dye-iodine complex. Gram-positive micro-organisms may be arranged in a number of groups according to their extractability pattern with regard to the complex. These patterns suggest the presence of interaction between the cells and ethanol. This interaction may be located at the cell wall.

[1]  R. Fischer.  Quantitative Gram Reaction. , 1959, Science.

[2]  J. Bartholomew,et al.  INFLUENCE OF PHOSPHATE BUFFER ON CRYSTAL VIOLET UPTAKE AND RETENTION BY BACTERIAL CELLS AS RELATED TO THE GRAM REACTION , 1956, Journal of bacteriology.

[3]  J. Moyle,et al.  The Gram reaction and cell composition: nucleic acids and other phosphate fractions. , 1954, Journal of general microbiology.

[4]  J. Bartholomew,et al.  CRYSTAL VIOLET BINDING CAPACITY AND THE GRAM REACTION OF BACTERIAL CELLS , 1954, Journal of bacteriology.

[5]  E. Kennedy,et al.  A QUANTITATIVE GRAM REACTION , 1954 .

[6]  E. Kennedy,et al.  QUANTITATIVE ADSORPTION OF CRYSTAL VIOLET , 1953, Journal of bacteriology.

[7]  J. O. Harris,et al.  THE ISOELECTRIC POINT OF BACTERIAL CELLS , 1953, Journal of bacteriology.

[8]  M. Salton,et al.  Studies of the bacterial cell wall. IV. The composition of the cell walls of some Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. , 1953, Biochimica et biophysica acta.

[9]  J. Bartholomew,et al.  THE GRAM STAIN , 1952, Bacteriological reviews.

[10]  J. Moyle,et al.  The glycerol-phospho-protein complex envelope of Micrococcus pyogenes. , 1951, Journal of general microbiology.

[11]  J. Bartholomew,et al.  The mechanism of the Gram reaction. III. Solubilities of dye-iodine precipitates and further studies of primary dye substitutes. , 1951, Stain technology.

[12]  J. Bartholomew,et al.  The mechanism of the gram reaction. II. The function of iodine in the gram stain. , 1950, Stain technology.

[13]  P. Mitchell,et al.  Occurrence of a Phosphoric Ester in Certain Bacteria: Its Relation to Gram Staining and Penicillin Sensitivity , 1950, Nature.

[14]  M. Stephenson,et al.  The production of acetylcholine by a strain of Lactobacillus plantarum. , 1947, Journal of general microbiology.

[15]  M. W. Barnes,et al.  THE CELL WALL AND THE GRAM REACTION , 1929, Journal of bacteriology.

[16]  A. E. Stearn,et al.  THE CHEMICAL MECHANISM OF BACTERIAL BEHAVIOR III. THE PROBLEM OF BACTERIOSTASIS , 1924, Journal of bacteriology.

[17]  A. E. Stearn,et al.  THE CHEMICAL MECHANISM OF BACTERIAL BEHAVIOR II. A NEW THEORY OF THE GRAM REACTION , 1924, Journal of bacteriology.