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J Bacteriol. 1968 March; 95(3): 771-774
Copyright © 1968 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Growth and Bacteriolytic Activity of a Soil Amoeba, Hartmannella glebae

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118

ABSTRACT

A soil amoeba, Hartmannella glebae, could grow on a variety of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, although the rate of growth was faster in the presence of gram-negative bacteria. The amoeba, however, could not use yeasts, molds, or a green alga as a nutritional source. The extract prepared from amoebae grown in the presence of Aerobacter aerogenes and Alcaligenes faecalis could lyse intact cells and cell walls of many gram-positive bacteria at different rates. The spectrum of lytic activity was similar to that of egg-white lysozyme, with the exception that several species and strains of Bacillus, Micrococcus, and Staphylococcus were resistant to lysozyme and susceptible to the extract. The gram-negative bacteria tested were resistant.