Open AccessHistochemistry of the Gram-staining reaction for micro-organisms
Author(s) -
H. Henry,
M. Stacey
Publication year - 1946
Publication title -
proceedings of the royal society of london. series b, biological sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2053-9193
pISSN - 0080-4649
DOI - 10.1098/rspb.1946.0020
Subject(s) - staining , chemistry , gram , cytoskeleton , stripping (fiber) , salt (chemistry) , biochemistry , cell , gram negative bacteria , bacteria , biology , escherichia coli , materials science , genetics , composite material , gene
Extraction of certain Gram -positive micro-organisms with a 2% solution of a bile salt (preferably sodium cholate) strips the cell of an essential part of its dye-retaining constituent leaving a Gram-negative cytoskeleton. From the bile-salt extract there was separated a fraction which could be plated back on suitably reduced cytoskeletons and thereby restore in a large measure the Gram-positive character of the cell. The essential agent in the extract was magnesium ribonucleate, and it is considered that the Gram-positive or dye-retaining constituent is a nucleoprotein formed by the combination of ribonucleic acid with a basic protein in the cytoskeleton. The stripping and replating processes could be demonstrated by photomicrographs taken in ultra-violet light.