The growth and composition of a population were studied during long term (up to 50 days) batch cultivation of mono and mixed cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa S and M dissociants and Rhodobacter sphaeroides R and M dissociants without the addition of nutrients. During the cultivation of P. aeruginosa on a glucose containing mineral medium, periodic lysis followed by polyculture growth resumption in the late stationary phase occurred on account of the M dissociant: the change in its cell number corresponded to the change in the total cell number of the association. It was shown that the periodic occurrence of reducing sugars in the medium preceded the resumption of polyculture growth. Periodic secondary growth of the mixed culture of R. sphaeroides photosynthesizing bacteria occurred because of fast growing R cells after the lysis of some part of the R dissociant population. In the monoculture of the R. sphaeroides M dissociant, R cells were found during the whole period of cultivation, making up to 1-10% of the population irrespective of its size, which probably corresponded to the frequency of occurrence of this dissociant. In the R dissociant monoculture, M cells were found only after 26 days, and their number gradu ally decreased to half of population by the end of cultivation period. The joint growth of dissociants was character ized by the biomass increment and bacterial growth acceleration compared to monocultures, which is important for the fast development of new habitats under natural conditions. The cells of both bacterial species were lysed dur ing long term cultivation by exoproteinases secreted by the thin wall cells of M dissociants.