MATERIAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE PLANT 



IQI 



Leguminosae 1 ), the decrease in dry weight is due to loss of carbon, hydrogen 

 and oxygen. Protein decomposition occurs at the same time, with the formation 

 of asparagin and amino acids. Glucose is formed from the non-nitrogenous 



Total Dry 

 Weight 



Starch and 

 Dextrine 



Glucose and 

 Saccharose 



Seeds 8.636 



Seedlings 4 . 529 



Gain or loss during 



germination —4.107 



6.386 

 0.777 



-5.609 



0.000 

 Q-953 



+ o.953 



Fats 



0.463 

 0.150 



-0.313 



Cellulose 



0.516 

 1. 316 



+0.800 



substances, and the cellulose content increases. The table given below shows 

 analyses of seeds and seedlings of Lupinus luteus, the quantities being percent- 

 ages of the total dry weight of the seeds. Sulphates also appear, as a by- 



product of protein decomposition in the germination of proteinaceous seeds; 

 lupine seeds with an equivalent sulphuric acid content of 0.385 g. were germi- 

 nated and showed a corresponding content of 0.610 g. when seven days old, and 

 one of 1.323 g. when fifteen days old. 



In the germination of fatty seeds (such as those of Helianthus, Cucurbita, 

 Ricinus, etc. 2 ) the loss in dry weight occurs almost entirely through loss of car- 

 bon and hydrogen, while the amount of oxygen actually increases through 

 absorption. The stored fats decrease during this process and are replaced by 

 starch, which shows how the absorption of oxygen is to be interpreted. Fats 

 are much poorer in oxygen than starch, and the formation of starch from fats is 

 therefore possible only with addition of oxygen. The hydrolysis of fat results 

 in an increase in the fatty acid content of the seeds during germination. The 

 following experiment may serve as an illustration of this. Twenty grams of 

 poppy seed contained 8.915 g. of fat and 0.975 g- °f f ree fatty acids. After 

 germination for four days 3.77 g. of free fatty acids were present, and only 3.90 

 g. of fat. Glycerine, however, was not found in the seedlings. 



The following table illustrates the changes that occur during the germination 

 of sunflower seeds. The numbers represent percentages, on the basis of the 

 original total dry weight of the seeds. 3 



1 Schulze, E., and Umlauft, W. Untersuchungen iiber einige chemische Vorgange bei der Keimung der 

 gelben Lupine. Landw. Jahrb. 5: 821-858. 1876. 



' Laskovsky, Die Keimung der Kurbissamen in chemischer Bezielhung. Moscow, 1874.* 

 3 Frankfurt, 1894. [See note 5, p. 186.] 



