Evidence for muramic acid in soil

Evidence indicative of the presence of muramic acid in soil was demonstrated. Muramic acid values ranging from 0 to 150 μg/g dry weight of soil were obtained for 33 different soil samples. Comparisons of these values with the muramic acid contents of laboratory-grown microbial cultures revealed that the soil muramic acid levels are about 100- to 1000-fold greater than can be accounted for by a platable bacterial population in soil, but are compatible with other estimates of total bacterial soil numbers. It was suggested that a muramic acid analysis of soil might provide an estimate of its total bacterial population.