86 BIOCHEMICAL SYSTEMATICS 



1. However, Makela reported that some group 3 sugars such as 

 D-glucose, D-mannose, and the ketose, D-fructose, strongly inhibited 

 some other types of plant agglutinins. 



In connection with the question of the systematic value of the 

 plant agglutinins it is premature to attempt a final evaluation. Plant 

 agglutinins have been found in a number of families of flowering 

 plants, but it has already been noted that the Leguminosae have 

 special proclivity toward the production of agglutinins. Yet the 

 agglutinins are not common within the sub-families Mimosoideae and 

 Caesalpinioideae of the family. The Mimosoideae are especially 

 deficient (only a few species of the genus Parkia are positive). The 

 extensive survey of the Leguminosae by Makela has provided enough 

 data to permit some generalizations to be made concerning the distri- 

 bution of agglutinins within the legume family. It is obvious that 

 only tendencies are disclosed by the data. That is, at most taxonomic 

 levels the character tends not to be constant. For example, within the 

 sub-family Papilionoideae only the tribes Podalyrieae and Trifolieae 

 have not proved to have any agglutinins. The tribes Dalbergieae and 

 Hedysareae are somewhat poor in agglutinins, but the rest of the 

 tribes contain numerous agglutinin producers. In the tribes Phaseoleae 

 and Galegeae, there is a great variation, but in the tribe Vicieae, which 

 is particularly consistent, the large majority of species studied produce 

 agglutinins. There is some apparent regularity of a qualitative nature 

 with respect to the distribution of the agglutinins. For example, anti-H 

 agglutinins are quite rare except in the tribe Genisteae where they are 

 frequently encountered in the genera Cytisus, Genista, Laburnum, 

 Petteria, and Ulex, though absent from some other genera in the tribe. 

 Elsewhere, only the genus Lotus, of the tribe Loteae and Virgilia of 

 the Sophoreae are known to produce anti-H agglutinins. 



Makela does not emphasize strongly the systematic aspect. 

 He makes only a few general comments such as the following: 



The occurrence can be said to conform to the taxonomic plant system 

 to some extent though by no means absolutely. Proofs of this are, 

 in particular, the total absence of agglutinins in the seeds of certain 

 tribes, e.g. Trifolieae, and the almost regular presence in the seeds of 

 Viceae. 



When data concerning the specificities of plant agglutinins 

 are supplemented by further knowledge of their responses to various 

 inhibitors, they may involve sufficient qualitative refinement to dis- 

 close a more meaningful pattern to the distribution of plant agglu- 

 tinins than we now have. Some progress in this direction has been 

 made, but the results so far have not given much cause for optimism. 



