582 JACQUES LOEB 



5. Oxidation and action of alkali in artificial parthenogenesis 



In former papers the writer had shown that the partheno- 

 genetic as well as the destructive action of KOH and NaOH 

 upon cells can be retarded or suppressed through the removal 

 of oxygen or the addition of a few drops of KCN.^ It was our 

 intention to find out whether the action of NH4OH in artificial 

 parthenogenesis could also be suppressed by KCN. This is 

 indeed the case. Two solutions of 50 cc. m/2 (NaCl + CaCli 

 + KCl) + 0.3 cc. w NH4OH were prepared. To one of these 

 were added five drops of a 0.1 per cent solution of KCN. Un- 

 fertilized eggs of Arbacia were put into these solutions for forty- 

 five minutes and then transferred to sea water. The eggs which 

 had been in the solution containing KCN remained absolutely 

 intact and unaltered. The next morning sperm was added 

 and all segmented regularly, developing into perfectly normal 

 larvae. The eggs, however, which had been in the solution 

 not containing KCN began to segment and in a few hours dis- 

 integrated completely. 



If the eggs remain for a number of hours in a mixture of 50 

 cc. m/2 (NaCl + KCl -f- CaCla) + 0.3 cc. ^ NH4OH + 5 drops 

 of 0.1 per cent KCN they remain intact, but when put back into 

 normal sea water they soon segment in an irregular way and dis- 

 integrate. This is in agreement with the well known fact that 

 the amount of KCN added in this case only retards the oxidi^- 

 tions but does not suppress them entirely. 



These experiments throw a light upon the locahzation of 

 oxidations in the cell. Warburg pointed out that the increase 

 of the rate of oxidations in the egg by NaOH can only be as- 

 cribed to a surface action, since the NaOH does not noticeably 

 diffuse into the egg. Wasteneys and I found that the weak 

 base NH4OH accelerates the rate of oxidations about one-half 

 as much as the strong base NaOH.'^ The fact that NH4OH 

 raises the rate of oxidations much more than should be expected 



« Pfliiger's Archiv, Bd. 118, p. 30, 1907, and "Die chemische Entwicklungs- 

 erregung des tierischen Eies, p. 118. 



' Loeb and Wasteneys, Biochem. Zeitsch., Bd. 37, p. 410, 1911. 



