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Gram-Negative Bacteria

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

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Synonyms

Gram-negative bacteria

Definition

A group of microorganisms that will not retain a crystal violet stain on gram staining method.

Structure

As opposed to gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria maintain the cell wall shape by a thin layer of peptidoglycan that is surrounded by an outer membrane. The outer membrane provides an important role in the protection from host environment, and it is linked to the peptidoglycan through lipoproteins. Lipid A is a component of the outer membrane which acts as a strong activator of the innate immune system. Few kinds of proteins that are found on the outer membrane play a role in the virulence of these organisms. Periplasmic space is an area that is found between the inner and outer membranes that many enzymatic processes will take place at. Other structures which could also be found in the gram-positive bacteria include capsule which is useful in the protection from phagocytosis, pili that are used by bacteria for adherence or...

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Further Reading

  • Deibel JP, Cowling K (2013) Ocular inflammation and infection. Emerg Med Clin North Am 31:387–397

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller D, Iovieno A (2009) The role of microbial flora on the ocular surface. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 9:466–470

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Pfaller MA (2013) Medical microbiology, 7th edn. Saunders, Philadelphia, pp 109–121

    Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wilmer Eye Institute, 600 N Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Khaled Tuwairqi

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Khaled Tuwairqi

Authors
  1. Khaled Tuwairqi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khaled Tuwairqi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Tuwairqi, K. (2014). Gram-Negative Bacteria. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_796-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_796-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

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