A Comparison of the Staining Reactions of the Cell Walls of Azotobacter chroococcum and those of Gram-positive and Gram-negative Bacteria

Abstract

SUMMARY: The effects of various reagents in the mordanting and staining of bacterial cell walls are described. The cell walls of Gram-positive bacteria were found to be much more readily stainable than those of Gram-negative organisms. In this and other respects, apart from the Gram reaction Azotobacter chroococcum resembled a Gram-positive species; some of the methods described provided an excellent illustration of its Bacillus-like morphology.