THE OCCURRENCE OF YEASTS IN SOIL

Abstract

Yeasts were found in small numbers in 39 of 87 soil samples. There was no correlation between the occurrence of yeasts and type of soil, nature of the crop, or season of year. They were found in such small numbers and so haphazard in distribution as to indicate that they play no important part in soil transformations. Forty-nine strains isolated fell naturally into 12 groups of species. Of these, but 3, Nadsonia fulvescens, Willia anomala, and Torula glutinis, could be positively identified. The remaining strains were species of Zygosaccharomyces, Torulaspora, Saccharomyces (2 species), Pichia, and Torula (4 species).