Microbiological Agencies in the Degradation of Steroids: I. The Cholesterol-Decomposing Organisms of Soils.

The disappearance of cholesterol added experimentally to soils has been shown (Turfitt, 1943) to result from the activities of microbiological agents. It is reasonable to presume that the degradation of the complex cholesterol molecule is accomplished by the coordinated activities of a variety of organisms. The soil protozoa, and even some of the more highly organised animal members of the soil population, may well play some role in the process, but during the further work on cholesterol disappearance recorded in this publication attention has been directed towards the bacteria and the mould fungi.