DORMANCY IN BUDS 247 



to a iS-glucoside by the living tubers. Extracted juice did not form the gki- 

 coside. He found later ^° that corms of gladiolus when treated with ethyl- 

 ene chlorhydrin likewise transformed the chemical to a glucoside and identi- 

 fied the glucoside as /3-(2-chloroethyl)-d-glucoside. This ^^ was proved 

 identical with the glucoside formed in the potato tuber. Wheat plants ^^ 

 furnished with ethylene chlorhydrin in nutrient solution synthesized the 

 same glucoside. 



When gladiolus corms ^" were exposed to the vapor of o-chlorophenol, 

 much of the chemical was absorbed and later transformed by the corm into 

 j3-o-chlorophenyl-gentiobioside. In this case the chemical was tied up with 

 a disaccharide, gentiobiose, instead of glucose. It seems probable that the 

 chemical induces the formation of the disaccharide, gentiobiose, as well 

 as the glycoside, since there is little if any gentiobiose in untreated corms. 

 Tomato roots ^^ respond similarly to o-chlorophenol. When gladiolus 

 corms ^^ were fumigated alternately Avith ethylene chlorhydrin and o-chloro- 

 phenol, both /3-glucoside and )3-gentiobioside were formed simultaneously 

 in the corm. The foreign chemical, or aglycon, added determines the sugar 

 with which it ties up. In this case the ethylene chlorhydrin was tied up as 

 a glucoside and the o-chlorophenol as a gentiobioside. 



When growing tomato plants ^'^ were supplied with trichloroethyl alcohol, 

 chloral hydrate or chloral cyanohydrin, j(3-trichloroethyl-gentiobioside 

 accumulated in both the tops and roots of the plants. The first chemical 

 is built into the glycoside without modification ; chloral hydrate is reduced 

 before it is installed in the glycoside, and chloral cyanohydrin is first hydro- 

 lyzed and then reduced before becoming a part of the glycoside. Tomato 

 plants normally contain little or no gentiobiose, so the synthesis of this 

 sugar may be induced as well by the chemicals. 



Not all of Miller's work on inducing the synthesis of foreign glycosides 

 in plants by feeding them unusual chemicals can be discussed here, but one 

 other piece of research should be described. When tobacco plants are sup- 

 plied with chloral hydrate in the nutrient solution, both a jS-glucoside and a 

 /3-gentiobioside are formed. The roots store up only the latter and the 

 leaves accumulate both glycosides. An analysis of one set of leaves showed 

 that the two glycosides constituted 13 per cent of the dry weight of the 

 leaves. This shows the marked degree to which the organic chemical com- 

 position of plants can be modified by supplying plants with a foreign chemi- 

 cal. Probably further research in this direction will show that even greater 

 accumulation of foreign compounds in plants is possible. In this work in 

 every case the foreign chemical synthesized, so far as known, is a glycoside. 

 Can plants be induced to synthesize other foreign chemicals, such as alka- 

 loids, when supplied with organic chemicals not ordinarily found in them? 

 This work suggests the possibility of further researches in this field that 

 might be of great scientific interest and practical value. 



It has long been assumed that formation of glucosides or glycosides is 

 a means plants have for detoxication of poisonous products of their own 



