The Lactobacillus acidophilus is Gram stain positive, which means that it will retain a purple-iodine complex used for staining cells. A Gram stain negative cell would lose the colour immediately from a decolourising agent, but a Gram stain positive cell, like L. acidophilus, would retain the dye, and still appear purple. The decolourising agent is made up of ethanol, but can sometimes be made up of a mixture of acetone and alcohol.
This image is a chart showing the colour that a cell of each type would show when it undergoes each staining technique.
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