from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- adj. stained dark blue or violet by Gram staining due to large quantities of peptidoglycan in the cell wall
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Positive (that is, receptive) to Gram's stain.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adj. (of bacteria) being or relating to a bacterium that retains the violet stain used in Gram's method
Sorry, no etymologies found.
In contrast to so-called Gram-positive bacteria, like MRSA, these microscopic enemies are Gram-negative, meaning they have tougher outer membranes which block out many antibiotics, and an unnerving ability to pump out others, making them much harder to take on and beat.
Ten years ago, scientists believed the greatest threat from drug-resistant infections involved what are known as Gram-positive bacteria, which include the so-called superbug MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus).
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are "Gram-positive," while the oil-eating bacteria are Gram-negative.
Gram-positive bacteria have a single-membrane cell wall, while Gram-negative bacteria have a double-membrane cell wall.
Gram-positive bacteria, including gram-positive spore forms, are absent or rare in most tundra sites.
You may have understood Listeria Monocytogenes to be a Gram-positive rod shaped bacteria commonly found in soil, streams, sewage and food (stay off the Brie if you are pregnant) and responsible for a rare but possibly lethal food-borne infection, Listeriosis.
“OkayToKiss will turn blue if a person has enzymes in the mouth produced by the Gram-positive bacteria,” said Mel Rosenberg, a scientist at Tel Aviv University.
L. monocytogenes is a Gram-positive bacterium that moves by means of flagella.
The majority, however, is biochemically fixed in ecosystems by specialized micro-organisms, all of which are bacteria of various types, including a varity of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, actinomycetes, and cyanobacteria.
I am not a microbiologist, but my responsibilities at work often require that I understand the difference between a cocci and a rod, Gram-negative and a Gram-positive, and which organisms are "objectionable".