VI. FACTORS INTERFERING WITH GENES 259 



antagonism which is generally recognized with hormones has been 

 observed also with these substances (63). 



Penicillin, like phage, can cause lysis in bacteria (64). It has 

 already been stated that lysis of bacteria by phage may be attributed 

 to the structural disturbance caused by phage in the protoplasm of 

 bacteria. Penicillin may likewise be able to change the protoplasm 

 structure of bacterial cell, wherein severe disturbance may be raised 

 which may cause the dissociation of elementary bodies leading to the 

 decomposition of bacterial cell into the elementary bodies. The lysis, 

 however, may not account for the effectiveness of penicillin, for the 

 lysis may thus only be a result of the disturbance of protoplasm 

 structure due to the drug. The disturbance in the structure may lead 

 to the universal derangement in enzyme systems which must be 

 the main cause of the effect. 



Antibiotics can produce specific resistance in bacteria, indicating 

 the occurrence of specific change in protoplasm structure in response 

 to the structure of the drug. Entirely a similar phenomenon will 

 take place when phage affects bacteria. Thus, the bacteria become 

 resistant specifically to the phage, and bacterial protoplasm particles 

 can act as the phage following the infection. As pointed out in 

 the previous Part, bacteria having become immune to a certain drug 

 produce virus-like agent able to transmit the resistance to other 

 organisms. 



2. Inorganic Salts 



Inorganic salts are considered likewise to have hormone-like action 

 and can interfere with the genes. 



Lehmann (65) has succeeded in controlling chorda formation by 

 treating the gastrula of Triton or Rana with lithium chloride. More- 

 over, it was found by Stockard that when, at a certain critical period, 

 the developing eggs of Funduliis, a common sea minow, were subjected 

 to the action of various magnesium salts dissolved in sea water, a 

 large percentage of them developed a single median eye instead of 

 ordinary pair {%). A similar effect of salts has been also demonstrated 

 with the cephalopod Loligo vulgaris and other species. The modifica- 

 tions were produced by lithium chloride and magnesium chloride. 

 The most conspicuous feature of the modifications involves the differ- 

 ential inhibition of the head region, resulting in all degrees of 

 approximation of eyes to complete cyclops, reduction in sizes, anoph- 

 thalimia, and acephalic (67). Such a striking action of inorganic 

 solutions on animal forms may only be explained by assuming the 



