York College - CUNY Bio 265L Lab Week #3

These flashcards cover the concepts related to Gram staining, Acid-fast staining, and various bacterial species studied in the lab.

Gram stain

A differential staining technique used to categorize bacteria based on cell wall composition.

Crystal violet

The primary dye used in Gram staining that some bacteria retain.

Safranin

The counter stain used in Gram staining that stains bacteria that do not retain crystal violet.

Escherichia coli Morphology

Rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium.

Bacillus subtilis Morphology

Rod-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium.

Neisseria sicca Morphology

Cocci-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium.

Staphylococcus epidermidis Morphology

Cocci-shaped, Gram-positive bacterium, typically arranged in clusters.

Acid-fast stain

A staining procedure used to identify acid-fast bacteria based on their waxy cell wall.

Mycobacterium smegmatis

An acid-fast, non-pathogenic bacterium often used as a model organism in labs.

Nocardia

Bacteria that can be identified through acid-fast staining due to their similar cell wall properties to mycobacteria.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis significance

The organism detected in clinical specimens, like sputum, of patients with tuberculosis.

BSL-1

Biosafety Level 1, indicating that the organisms are not known to cause disease in healthy individuals.

Non-acid fast cells

Bacterial cells that do not retain the red color from the acid-fast stain and appear blue.