Nutritional Studies of a Marine Phlyctochytrium Sp.

SUMMARY

An estuarine chytrid, Phlyctochytrium sp., requires higher concentrations of Na⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ than the concentrations in freshwater but lower than those found in ocean water. Good growth is obtained in low concentrations of K⁺ but high concentrations are not harmful. A pH optimum of 5–8 is attributed to the broad range of pH possible in estuaries. Glucose, starch, maltose, and glutamic acid can serve as sole carbon sources, and NH₄Cl, but not KNO₃, serves as a sole nitrogen source. The organism grows well in the defined medium used. The medium, varied within the limits shown, is suggested as a basal medium for further studies.