The Efficiency of Cultivation Media in Recovering Naked Lobose Amoebae from Freshwater Environments.

: Martin Mrva and Maria Garajova (2018) This paper deals with the efficiency of cultivation media in recovering the species diversity of naked lobose amoebae. A total of 24 species belonging to ten families were isolated with six enrichment media (two liquid and four agar media) during a two-year study on naked lobose amoebae in a branch of the Danube River in Bratislava (Slovak Republic). The highest efficiency was seen in the grass-seed infusion, grass-seed agar, and non-nutrient agar, with 79%, 67%, and 58% of species recovered, respectively. The grass-seed infusion yielded the highest numbers of Thecamoebidae, Vannellidae, Mayorellidae and Dermamoebidae species and is likely the most suitable medium for their recovery. The most effective media were based on grass-seed infusions, which are easy to prepare and suitable for studying the diversity and ecology of naked amoebae from freshwater samples.