This gene controls the operator gene in cooperation with a chemical substance called inducer present in the cytoplasm. A regulator gene is not necessarily adjacent to the operator gene which it controls. The regulator gene codes for and produces a protein called repressor.
The Gram-positive bacteria include staphylococci (staph), streptococci (strep), pneumococci, and the bacterium responsible for diphtheria (Cornynebacterium diphtheriae) and anthrax (Bacillus anthracis). The Danish bacteriologist J.M.C. Gram (1853-1938) devised a method of staining bacteria using a dye called crystal (gentian) violet. Gram's method helps distinguish between different types of bacteria. The gram-staining characteristics of bacteria are denoted as positive or negative, depending upon whether the bacteria take up and retain the crystal violet stain or not.
Bacteria are traditionally divided into the two groups: gram-positive and gram-negative, based on their gram-staining response. Gram-positive bacteria are also referred to as monoderms having one membrane, and gram-negative bacteria are also referred to as diderms, having two membranes.