Krassilnikoviae: a new class of micro-organisms found in sea and ocean depths.

Abstract

Summary: A new class of micro-organisms, the Krassilnikoviae, found in the Black Sea, the Pacific and the Arctic Oceans, is described. These organisms developed on slides immersed in the waters; they have not been cultivated in the laboratory. They consist of non-branching, non-septate filaments with a head at one end consisting of a cluster of round bodies. The filaments often become interlaced and form strings which can just be seen by the naked eye. They may or may not be contained in a sheath.