The acid fast bacterium, Mycobacterium smegmatis, is relatively safe for students to work with because of its thin cell wall. If a gram stain is to be performed on this particular microbe, it often takes the gram stain reaction. Why?

Definition Definition Technique that uses crystal violet or methylene blue as primary staining colors to distinguish gram-positive from gram-negative organisms. Under a microscope, the gram-positive organisms appear purple-brown, retaining the primary color. Gram-negative organisms appear pink or red as they do not acquire the color of the primary stain.