Axenic cultivation of an Enchytraeid worm, Cognettia sphagnetorum

Treatment with an antibiotic mixture of penicillin, streptomycin and framycetin freed approximately 60% of individuals of the enchytraeid worm, C. sphagnetorum from living microorganisms and caused no deleterious behavioural changes. Fungi accounted for half of the remaining contamination. Feeding experiments showed that living microorganisms are not an essential requirement for the worm since treated worms grew as well, or slightly better than untreated worms, on both sterile irradiated and non-sterile foods.