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Identification of bacteria (staining techniques):- PDF/ PPT

Description

     Microbiology




Identification of bacteria


   staining techniques




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                Intended learning objectives


At the end of this lecture, the student will be able to:

• Classify the staining techniques

• Explain the principle and procedure involved morphological and

  gram staining

• Outline the significance of staining in identification of bacteria



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                           Need for staining

• Most microorganisms appear almost
  colourless when viewed through a
  standard light microscope

• Hence must be fixed and stained to
   – Increase visibility

   – Accentuate       specific   morphological
     features

   – Preserve them for future study
                                                    Unstained
                                                    organisms


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                     Need for staining

• Staining simply means colouring the microorganisms with a dye
  that emphasizes certain structures




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                   Basic staining procedure


Step 1: Smear preparation

• A thin film of material containing the microorganisms is spread over
  the surface of the slide. This film, called a smear.

• It is allowed to air dry.




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               Preparing smears for staining

Step 2: Fixation




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               Preparing smears for staining

Step 2: Fixation

• By passing it through the flame of a bunsen burner several times,
  smear side up, or by covering the slide with methyl alcohol for one
  minute.

• Fixing simultaneously kills the microorganisms and fixes them to
  the slide.

• It also preserves various parts of microbes in their natural state
  with only minimal distortion

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                              Staining
Step 3: Staining

• Stain is applied and then washed off with water

• Slide is blotted with absorbent paper.

• The stained microorganisms are now ready for microscopic
  examination.




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                                 Stains

• Stains are salts composed of a positive and a negative ion,

• The colored ion is known as the chromophore.



                                Colored
          Positive ion                            Basic stain
                                chromophore
                                Colored
          Negative ion                            Acidic stain
                                chromophore
  Stain




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                               Stains

• Bacteria are slightly negatively charged at pH 7.

• Thus, the colored positive ion in a basic dye is attracted to the
  negatively charged bacterial cell.

• Basic dyes include crystal violet, methylene blue, malachite green
  and safranin




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                               Stains

• Acidic dyes are not attracted to most types of bacteria

• The dye's negative ions are repelled by the negatively charged
  bacterial surface

• The dye colors the background instead

• Preparing colorless bacteria against a colored background is called
  negative staining.

• Examples of acidic dyes are eosin, acid fuchsin, and nigrosin



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                        Negative staining

• Valuable for observing overall cell shapes, sizes, and capsules

• The cells are made highly visible against a contrasting dark
  background




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                       Negative staining
• Distortions of cell size and shape are minimized because fixing is
  not necessary and the cells do not pick up the stain




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Negative staining




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                         Simple staining


• A simple stain is an aqueous or alcohol solution of a single basic dye

• The primary purpose of a simple stain is to highlight the entire

  microorganism so that cellular shapes and basic structures are

  visible




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                         Simple staining

• The stain is applied to the fixed smear for a certain length of lime

  and then washed off

• The slide is dried and examined

• Simple stains commonly used in the laboratory - methylene blue,

  carbolfuchsin, crystal violet, and safranin.




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Simple staining procedure




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                              Mordant

• Mordant - A chemical that intensifies the stain

Functions of mordant

• To increase the affinity of a stain for a biological specimen

• To coat a structure (such as a flagellum) to make it thicker and
  easier to see after it is stained with a dye.




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                        Differential stains

• Differential stains react differently with different kinds of bacteria

• Can be used to distinguish them

• The differential stains most frequently used for bacteria are the
  Gram stain and the acid-fast stain




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                            Gram stain

• Gram stain was developed in 1884 by the Danish bacteriologist
  Hans Christian Gram

• Most useful staining procedures - classifies bacteria into two large
  groups: gram-positive and gram-negative.

➢ Step 1: Primary stain

➢ Step 2: Mordant

➢ Step 3: Decolorization

➢ Step 4: Counter stain

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     Gram stain




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                             Gram stain

• The purple dye and the iodine combine in the cytoplasm of each
  bacterium and color it dark violet or purple.

• Bacteria that retain this color after the alcohol has attempted to
  decolorize them are classified as gram-positive

• Because gram-positive bacteria retain the original purple stain, they
  are not affected by the safranin counterstain




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                            Gram stain

• Bacteria that lose the dark violet or purple color after
  decolorization are classified as gram negative

• Because gram-negative bacteria are colorless after the alcohol
  wash, they are no longer visible.

• This is why the basic dye safranin is applied; it turns the gram-
  negative bacteria pink.

• Stains such as safranin that have a contrasting color to the primary
  stain are called counterstains

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  Gram staining




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                    Principle of Gram stain

• Different kinds of bacteria react differently to the Gram stain

• Structural differences in their cell walls affect the retention or
  escape of a combination of crystal violet and iodine, called the
  crystal violet- iodine (CV-I)complex

• Gram-positive bacteria have a thicker peptidoglycan cell wall than
  gram-negative bacteria

• Gram- negative bacteria contain a layer of lipopolysaccharide (lipids
  and polysaccharides) as part of their cell wall


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              Principle of gram staining

Crystal violet + Iodine

Enters Gram positive cell wall            Enters Gram negative cell wall


Peptidoglycan layer retains CV-I          Alcohol wash disrupts the outer
during alcohol decolorization             lipopolysaccharide layer

Gram-positive cells retain the color of   CV- I complex is washed ou tthrough the
the crystal violet dye                    thin layer of peptidoglycan


                                          Gram negative Cells are colorless



                                          Turn pink upon safranin staining



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         Clinical significance of Gram staining


• Gram reaction of a bacterium can provide valuable information for
  the treatment of disease.

• Gram-positive bacteria tend to be killed easily by penicillins and
  cephalosporins.

• Gram-negative bacteria are generally more resistant because the
  antibiotics cannot penetrate the lipopolysaccharide layer.




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                             Summary

• Morphological stains help in identifying the cell size, shape and

  structure

• Simple stains color the cells

• Negative staining color the background

• Gram staining differentiates between gram positive and gram

  negative cells


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                                Summary

• The difference in gram staining is due to difference in cell wall

  composition

• Stages of gram staining –
   1.   Primary stain

   2.   Mordant

   3.   Decolorization

   4.   Counterstaining




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Thank You


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