1. What is peptidoglycan? How do gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria differ in terms of peptidoglycan?
Peptidoglycan, also known as murien, is a polymer present in the cell wall of many bacteria. It consists of sugar and amino acids and contain alternating residues of beta 1,4- linked N- acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM). Gram-positive bacteria contain a thick layer of peptidoglycan which stains purple during gram staining while gram-negative bacteria contain a very thin layer of peptidoglycan and thus stain pink during the gram staining.
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