Questions: The primary dye in the Gram stain is:
- Gram's iodine
- crystal violet
- ethyl alcohol (ethanol)
- safranin
Transcript text: The primary dye in the Gram stain is:
- Gram's iodine
- crystal violet
- ethyl alcohol (ethanol)
- safranin
Solution
The answer to Question 1 is the second one: crystal violet.
Explanation for each option:
Gram's iodine: This is not the primary dye. It is used as a mordant in the Gram staining process to fix the dye onto the cell walls.
Crystal violet: This is the correct answer. Crystal violet is the primary dye used in the Gram stain procedure. It initially stains all cells.
Ethyl alcohol (ethanol): This is not a dye. It is used as a decolorizing agent in the Gram stain process.
Safranin: This is not the primary dye. It is used as a counterstain in the Gram stain procedure to stain Gram-negative bacteria after the decolorization step.
In summary, the primary dye in the Gram stain is crystal violet.