Belinda called Kyle running to catch up to her Belinda

Last updated: 1/16/2024

Belinda called Kyle running to catch up to her Belinda turned around and waited for him Are you heading to the lab right now asked Kyle Yes she said I want to look over the Gram stain protocol one more time before we go in Yeah good idea I ve been trying to memorize the steps But it s hard Belinda and Kyle spent the twenty minutes remaining before the start of lab going over Chapters 3 and 4 of their textbook which listed the steps of the Gram stain and how the staining results relate to the structure of the bacterial cell wall Kyle and Belinda took a sample of the bacteria provided by their instructor and each performed the Gram stain They focused on their slides with the oil immersion lens Got it they said almost simultaneously grinning proudly So what do you have asked Belinda I have Gram positive bacilli announced Kyle with an air of triumph Huh I have Gram negative bacilli That s not right we used the same sample Let me see yours Kyle peered through Belinda s microscope Your bacteria look like they have the same shape as mine but the color is different Mine are obviously purple but yours look much lighter They are definitely pink Maybe you did something wrong Why me You could have done something wrong Kyle looked up from Belinda s microscope Fair enough Kyle continued I prepared a bacterial smear like we learned last week then I added safranin then Gram s iodine then decolorizer then I added crystal violet You switched up the crystal violet and the safranin said Belinda I did Let me see that protocol again Hmm I guess you re right Let me try it again 1 Explain how the difference in the structure of the cell wall results in the different colors after performing the Gram stain 2 Why did Kyle s Gram stain give the wrong result 3 Are there any other mistakes that can result in gram negative bacteria staining purple Which