PHOSPHOROUS SUBSTANCES OF THE CELL. 145 



oxide from an alkaline solution. Thus, if hydroxylamine 

 hydrochlorate is added to a solution of protamine and then 

 a few drops of Fehling's solution, the cupric hydrate is re- 

 duced to the cuprous, and this gives a white precipitate with 

 the protamine. Balke also showed one other very interest- 

 ing reaction of protamine, for he found that it gave the 

 biuret reaction. This has been confirmed by Miescher and 

 by Kossel for salmin and sturin. As Kossel points out, 

 sturin resembles the peptones in some respects, but differs 

 from them in not yielding any of its nitrogen in the form of 

 amido-acids. Protamine gives neither the xanthoproteic 

 nor Millon's reaction. Kossel suggests that the biuret 

 reaction in those cases where it occurs is due to the basic 

 constituent of the proteid molecule. In a later paper 

 Kossel * describes the preparation of a protamine from the 

 spermatozoa of the herring. This one he names clupeine, 

 and assigns to it the formula C 30 H 57 N I7 6 . 



In his examination of the spermatozoa of Arbacia 

 Mathews* prepared a protamine which he has termed 

 arbacine, which shows differences from those previously 

 examined. The sulphate was prepared according to the 

 method employed by Kossel, and from this the free base 

 was obtained. It gives an alkaline solution in water, gives 

 the biuret reaction, and gives no precipitate with Millon's 

 reagent, though the fluid turns red in boiling. Like the 

 other protamines it precipitates proteids or Witte's peptone 

 in alkaline solutions, but it again differs from them in the 

 lower amount of nitrogen it contains. Mathews finds that 

 in the spermatozoa it is combined with the nucleic acid ; 

 that there is no free nucleic acid present. The chromatin 

 apparently consists entirely of arbacine nucleate. In ex- 

 amining the ripe spermatozoa of the herring he shows that 

 the chromatin in all probability again consists entirely of 

 clupeine nucleate, clupeine being the protamine which 

 Kossel lately described as prepared from the herring. He 

 further confirms the statements of Miescher and Kossel that 



1 Kossel : Sitz. d. Ges. z. Beford. d. g. Naturwiss. in Marburg. July, 

 1897. 



2 Loc. cit. 



