Question

What characteristic of gram negative bacterial cell wall construction makes them more difficult to threat with antibiotics than would be the case for from positive bacteria

Answer 1

The Gram-negative bacterial cell wall is particularly different from Gram-positive cell wall in the sense that it contains a very thin peptidoglycan and also contains a protective outer membrane. This outer membrane is very tough in structure and hence, it is very difficult to perforate this membrane and hence many antibiotics cannot pass through these Gram-negative cells. Secondarily, the Gram-negative cells do contain a thin peptidoglycan which is a main target of the antibiotics. But unlike Gram-positive bacteria, the peptidoglycan of the Gram-negative bacteria is hidden inside the outer membrane and is localized sandwiched between two layers of plasma membranes on either side.

Hence, these two main parameters make the Gram-negative bacteria difficult to treat with antibiotics as compared to Gram-positive bacteria.