Thickness Peptidoglycan
Thicker
Thinner
Periplasmic space
Absent
Present
Lipids
Absent or small
Present
Teichoic acid
Present
Absent
Peptidoglycan
16-80 nm
2nm
Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) content
Low
High
Resistance to physical disruption
Inhibition by basic dyes
Susceptibility to anionic detergents
Resistance to drying
Low
High
Gram reaction
Retain crystal violet dye, stain dark violet
Can be decolorized to accept counter stain