262 IV. THE PRINCIPLES OF LIFE PHENOMENA 



particles, the activity of which was also easily shown with numerical 

 values as in the case of phage, as the action was readily estimated 

 by the length of time required by the enzyme for the coagulation of 

 milk. As indicated in Tables 7 & 8, likewise with this enzyme it 

 was clearly shown that inorganic ions exhibited striking effect, the 

 gradient of ions in the effect being almost similar to that observed 

 w^ith the viruses. 



Such remarkable influences of inorganic salts upon virus and rennin 

 ■would be readily explained if we assumed that they could distort the 

 structure of the particulate protein in various manners according to 

 the kind of ions. This assumption seems reasonable, for the ions, like 

 hormones, apparently interfere with the genes in changing the function 

 of animals as above pointed out. 



The production of phage by E. coli is remarkably decreased if the 

 media, in which the bacteria are cultivated, contain neither calcium 

 nor magnesium, or if a citrate or an oxalate is added to the media. 

 According to our finding, the phage, yielded with difficulty under such 

 conditions, would produce extremely small plaques only, its virulence 

 to the bacteria being remarkably reduced. It is a noteworthy fact 

 that this changed property was occasionally heritable ; that is to say, 

 the phage yielded from bacteria affected by such a changed phage 

 tended occasionally to be of the same changed property, forming only 

 small plaques. This property was inherited even when the bacteria 

 were cultured in usual media, a fact which may show the occurrence 

 of a "mutation" in phage (71). 



Lack of the two-valent cations may cause a distortion in the pat- 

 tern of the bacterial virus, giving rise to the "mutation" which is 

 possibly induced by the alteration of protein structure in the proto- 

 plasm. As stated in Part II, Chapter VI, minute quantities of cal- 

 cium can maintain the virus particles or protoplasm particles in a 

 rigid form, so that the particles are photographed under the electron 

 microscope in a complete shape, indicating that the lack of calcium 

 results in a structural distortion of the particles. 



Many evidences are known that calcium ions are involed in the 

 transmission of structural change of proteins as in the case of blood 

 coagulation. For example, it has been demostrated that calcium and 

 magnesium ions in trace amounts are essential for haemolysis by 

 antibdoy and complement, and possibly for bacteriolysis, as well as 

 for enhancement of phagocytosis by antibody and complement (72). A 

 number of the parthenogenetic agents lose their effectiveness when 

 they are applied to eggs in calcium free sea water (73). 



When one breaks the membrane of an amoeba or sea-urchin egg, 

 the outflowing protoplasm soon forms a new membrane, but if the 



