THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIA SUITABLE FOR THE MICROORGANISMS MORPHOLOGICALLY RESEMBLING PLANCTOMYCES SPP, PIRELLULA SPP, AND OTHER PLANCTOMYCETALES FROM VARIOUS AQUATIC HABITATS USING DILUTE MEDIA

A total of 257 strains of budding bacteria morphologically resembling members of the order Planctomycetales were isolated from various aquatic habitats by the use of different enrichment procedures and dilute media for isolation and cultivation. The habitats differed in many respects. Salinity varied between freshwater and saline water (62.8 parts per thousand); pH ranged from 4.2 to 11.6. Isolates were recovered from oligotrophic, eutrophic, very eutrophic and frankly polluted habitats. This indicates the wide distribution of budding, peptidoglycan-less bacteria. Media with N-acetylglucosamine as carbon and nitrogen source and containing the antibiotics ampicillin and cycloheximide proved to be optimal for isolation. The isolates were identified morphologically as Planctomyces spp., Pirellula spp., and as yet undescribed bacteria with spherical or prosthecate cells.