VI. FACTORS INTERFERING WITH GENES 265 



lead to the destruction of the normal structure, causing severe injury 

 in the organisms. 



From what has been discussed above it should naturally be ex- 

 pected that the hydrogen ion has an effect upon organisms similar to, 

 or rather more than that of the usual inorganic ions. It is of no 

 use to emphasize the striking effect of pH in the body fluid. 



We have found that the addition of minute quantities of alkali to 

 blood-cell suspensions in vitro provides the cells with the faculty to 

 resist the haemolytic action of hypotonic saline solution, probably 

 because the structure of the stroma becomes stronger through this 

 procedure (75). An experimental result showing this fact is cited in 

 Table 9 ; rabbit's red-blood cells are enabled to resist markedly to 

 hypotonic saline solutions by the addition of minute quantities of 

 NaOH. It may appear strange in this Table that pH of the cell 

 suspension has the value of 5.5. Blood corpuscles washed and su- 

 spended in the physiological saline solution, always shows this pH 

 value. This suggests that the cell stroma itself is of this pH. Alkali 

 salts other than NaOH exhibit the same effect, indicating that the 

 effect is due to OH ion. Several minutes are required for stabilizing 

 the cells. But the additions of hydrogen ion, on the contrary, instabi- 

 lize the cells and render them liable to undergo lysis. The stabili- 

 zation due to OH ion and the instabilization due to H ion are com- 

 pletely reversible. 



It may be a natural result that the protoplasm, a mixed crystal, is 

 influenced in its character, to a more or less extent, by the substances 

 present in it. Inorganic salts are substances normally present in 

 large quantities, and accordingly they have great influences upon the 

 character. Hydrogen ion is also a normal component and its effect is 

 compatible with that of heavy metals, having much greater effect than 

 the usual inorganic ions. 



As above stated, the embryonic development of some animals is 

 much influenced by inorgnic ions ; and similar effects are said to be 

 induced also by the application of simple organic subatances, such as 

 ether and alcohol, indicating that non-physiological substances, even 

 if they have no peculiar, complicated structures, can cause a distortion 

 in the protoplasm pattern when they enter the cell. It has been 

 reported that trypan blue can induce in mouse embryos malformations, 

 which bear a striking resemblance to those genically determined (76). 

 This may indicate that the dye like a gene has the property to exert 

 a peculiarly distinct distortion on the pattern. 



To sum up, the pattern of protoplasm is in the main determined 

 by the genes, but substances, such as hormones and inorganic salts, 

 which are contained physiologically in the protoplasm may interfere 



