Acid-Fast Bacteria
Also found in: Acronyms.
acid-fast bacteria
[′as·əd ¦fast bak′tir·ē·ə] (microbiology)
Bacteria, especially mycobacteria, that stain with basic dyes and fluorochromes and resist decoloration by acid solutions.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Acid-Fast Bacteria
species of bacteria whose cells are not decolorized by sulfuric acid when stained with carbolfuchsin, owing to the chemical composition of the bacterial cells. The optimal reaction of the culture medium for growing acid-fast bacteria is not acid but neutral. Among acid-fast bacteria are several species of Mycobacterium, including pathogenic ones causing leprosy and tuberculosis in both man and animals and some nitrogen-fixing bacteria found in the soil.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.