Abstract
Summary: Giant amoeboid organisms may be isolated from soil and other materials by the use of suitable edible bacteria supplied on a base of non-nutrient agar. Leptomyxa reticulata is widely distributed in the soils of Great Britain. The common occurrence of this organism in soils which have been unmanured or treated with artificial fertilizers for 100 years or more proves that it is a soil inhabitant. Degrees of pH between 4·1 and 8·7 had no effect on the abundance of growth when a suitable bacterial strain was supplied as food on non-nutrient agar. Ninety-two very varied strains of bacteria tested as food for L. reticulata varied greatly in edibility. Bacteria producing red, violet and blue pigments were mostly inedible. There was no correlation between Gram-staining and edibility. Certain bacterial strains induced the formation of cysts by L. reticulata. This property was not correlated with their edibility.
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