| Abstract: | SYNOPSIS. A symbiote-free strain of Parauronema acutum, 110–3, a small marine hymenostome ciliate has been cultured in a synthetic medium consisting of amino acids, purine derivatives, vitamins, lipids and artificial sea water. Populations of ～ 1.3 × 106 per ml were obtained in 5 to 6 days at 27 C in the dark in medium prepared in sea water, density = 1.015 g/cc at a surface to volume ratio of 5 cm2/ml. The pH optimum was 7.2. The following amino acids were determined to be essential for the growth of this strain: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine (or glycine), threonine, tryptophan and valine: guanine, guanosine or guanylic acid, but not adenine, adenosine, adenylic acid, hypoxanthine, inosine, inosinic acid, xanthine, xanthosine, or xanthylic acid, satisfied the need for a purine for growth of this organism. Pyrimidines were not required for growth. Of the vitamins tested, folic acid, nicotinamide, d-pantothenic acid, pyridoxal HCl, riboflavin, thiamine HCl and thioctic acid were essential for growth; biotin was not. Growth in the absence of lipids was transplantable, but amounted to ～ 3% that obtained in medium containing a mixture of asolectin, animal cephalin and Tween 80. Asolectin alone at high concentrations was almost as effective as the lipid mixture in supporting growth. Purified phospholipids such as phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl inositol were less effective on an individual basis. In minimal medium containing only the “essential” amino acids, growth was less than 5% that obtained in the complete medium, but could be restored to maximal by the addition of either glutamic acid or aspartic acid. A number of substances, including sugars, amino acids and Krebs cycle intermediates, partially restored growth under these conditions. Only glycogen, starch and glucose-1-phosphate, tested individually, were as effective as glutamic acid or aspartic acid in restoring growth to optimal levels. |
