Which stain is the primary stain for the gram stain and which one is the primary stain for the acid fast stain?

What type of dye is used to stain the specimen when the acid-fast stain and the gram stain are used?

Both processes use 2 stains. The Gram staining process uses crystal violet as the primary stain and safranin as the secondary stain. Acid-fast staining uses carbol fuchsin as the primary and methylene blue as the secondary.

Is a Gram stain an adequate substitute for an acid fast stain?

So few organisms are acid-fast, the acid fast stain is used only when infection by an acid-fast organisms is suspected.

Which color is common to both the gram stain and the acid-fast stain?

purple

What is the decolorizing agent in the acid fast stain?

The decolorizing agent in the acid fast stain is acid alcohol. The decolorizing agent in the gram stain is ethanol.

Why is the counter stain for gram stain procedure differ from the counter stain used for acid fast procedure?

Safranin

Which group of microorganism is liable to stain positive with an acid fast stain and why?

Gram positive, cos they have thick cell wall

What so endospore stain have in common with the acid-fast stain?

One thing that endospore stains have in common with the acid fast stain is that heat primary stain penetration. Another thing that endospore stains have in common with acid fast stains are counterstain.

How does acid-fast bacteria differ from gram bacteria?

Acid-fast and Gram stain are two different types of staining technique. Bacteria that stain with acid-fast techniques are called "acid fast bacteria." Bacteria that don't stain with acid-fast techniques are called "not acid fast." At the same time, bacteria can be "Gram-positive" or "Gram-negative." For example, Nocardia is a bacterium that is acid-fast and Gram-positive. Usually the reason people care about these designations is in order to figure out what species a bacteria is. The issue usually arises in the context of a patient's sample that has grown bacteria. At first the doctors won't be sure which bacteria it is. They'll have guesses based on how the patient presented, but they won't know, and they want to know because that will help them pick the best treatment. A first step toward "speciating" the bacteria is to do a Gram stain on it. This is because for historical reasons determining whether a bacteria is Gram-positive or Gram-negative goes a long way toward speciating it. Acid-fast staining is less common, and is used mostly for diagnosing tuberculosis (caused by Mycobacteria, which are acid-fast bacteria). There are details about the cell walls that determine whether an organism will stain with Gram stain (thick walls without mycolic acids) or acid-fast, but hopefully this answers your question.

Difference between the gram stain ans acid fast stain reactions of E. coli?

Gram staining is useful in separating bacteria into two groups: Gram positive or Gram negative. They are separated into these groups based on their cell wall structure. Gram positive bacteria contain a thick layer of peptidoglycan in their cell walls, while Gram negative bacteria contain a very small layer of peptidoglycan (15% or less of what Gram positive cell walls contain). A primary stain is added, such as Crystal Violet, that will stain all of the bacteria. Then, a mordant (such as iodine and potassium iodide) is added to form a complex between the peptidoglycan and the stain, which will make the cell more resistant to decolorization. Then, a decolorizing agent is added, which will remove the primary stain from Gram negative bacteria, but will cause the cell walls in Gram positive bacteria to dehydrate, and therefore, they will retain the primary stain. Finally, a counterstain (typically safranin) is added to distinguish Gram positive from Gram negative. Gram positive cells will be purple, and Gram negative cells will be red if Crystal Violet and Safranin are used.Acid-fast staining is entirely different. Is is used to detect species of bacteria in the genera Mycobacteria and Nocardia. These bacteria are resistant to typical staining procedures, such as Gram staining, due to a thick, waxy lipid layer in the cell wall composed of mycolic acid. Heating of the bacteria with a very strong stain such as carbol-fuchsin is necessary to "melt" this lipid layer, and force the stain through the cell wall. Once the bacteria has cooled, they will be incredibly resistant to decolorization. Non-acid fast bacteria do not contain this mycolic acid layer, and therefore, they will decolorize much easier, and are then stained with a counterstain to distinguish Acid-Fast bacteria from Non-Acid-Fast bacteria.

Cite the purpose of following reagents in a differential staining procedure?

To distinguish between acid fast positive and acid fast negative bacteria. Acid fast positive bacteria will stain red to pink color and acid fast negative bacteria will stain blue. Acid fast positive bacteria have mycolic acid in their cell wall, which will stain with carbol fuchsin and not decolorize with acid alcohol. Acid fast negative bacteria do not have mycolic acid in their cell wall, and become decolorize with the acid alcohol. Counterstain of methylene blue needs to be done in order to see the acid fast negative.

What is the purpose of staining an unknown organism?

By doing differential stains on an unknown organism, you can learn more about that organism. One of the most helpful stains would be the Gram stain. The gram stain will differentiate from Gram positive and Gram negative cells, narrowing your bacteria down a lot. Other stains include: Acid-Fast stain, Capsule stain, Endospore stain, and PHB stain.

What color are non acid fast organisms after staining?

Acid-fast organisms are characterized by wax-like cell walls.Because the cell wall is so resistant to most compounds, acid-fast organisms require a special staining technique.1. The primary stain used in acid-fast staining, carbolfuchsin, is lipid-soluble and contains phenol, which helps the stain penetrate the cell wall. (violet or purple).2. This is further assisted by the addition of heat.3. The smear is then rinsed with a very strong decolorizer, which strips the stain from all non-acid-fast cells but does not permeate the cell wall of acid-fast organisms.4. The decolorized non-acid-fast cells then take up the counterstain. (safranin- red).Gram positive bacteria will stain purple.Gram negative bacteria will stain red/pink.