Parasitism and Axenic Growth of Dispira Cornuta

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Abstract
Host nutrition was shown to affect the degree of parasitism of Dispira cornuta on Cokeromyces recurvatus. Greatest parasitism occurred when the culture medium was low in glucose and high in nitrogen. Only slight axenic growth of D. cornuta occurred on beef liver, yeast extract, and certain other natural products. Host extract alone promoted very little axenic growth, but was needed in small quantities for axenic growth when an otherwise favorable medium was supplied. The role of host extract was not determined. Common water-soluble vitamins did not stimulate growth. D. cornuta did not utilize common carbon sources, such as glucose, ribose, sucrose, maltose, and starch. Good axenic growth occurred in the presence of glycerol and acetate, while pyruvate and dihydroxyacetone allowed fair growth. Many common sources of nitrogen were utilized in an acetate medium. The ability of D. cornuta to grow axenically was dependent upon a favorable source of carbon and unidentified factors in host extract. Two of 4 additional isolates of D. cornuta were able to grow axenically on glycerol and acetate media, but the other 2 did not grow axenically on any of the media tested.