HISTORY OF MITOCHONDRIAL RESEARCH 21 



mitochondria are phosphatids, would this phosphatid con- 

 stitution be incompatible with fibril formation? In the 

 light of Mathews statement, and we have many reasons to 

 accept the statement, mitochondria contain one of the 

 essentials in the physical substratum of Hving matter. If 

 we assume a phosphatid constitution of mitochondria then 

 it certainly appears logical that mitochondria are proto- 

 plasmic in nature; in other words, they possess one of the 

 essential components of hving matter. If mitochondria 

 are living structures, we would naturally expect them to 

 exhibit differentitation into many and diverse structures. 

 However, such argument based on assmnptions is not suffi- 

 cient to replace evidence gained by observation and 

 experimentation. 



Various other histogenetic activities have been attributed 

 to mitochondria. Meves in 1908, stated that "with the 

 speciahzation of the embryo into different organs and tis- 

 sues, primitively similar cells assume special functions which 

 find expression in characteristic structures or differentiations. 

 All these products, no matter how heterogeneous they may 

 be, arise through the metamorphosis of one and the same 

 elementary plasma-constituent, the chondriosomes" (quoted 

 from Cowdry). Meves' hypothetical statement has found a 

 rather wide confirmation in the researches of subsequent 

 investigators. The following list taken from that given by 

 Cowdry will serve to indicate the range of these described 

 activities: Anthocyanin (Guilliermond), Apparato reticulare 

 (Hoven), Aqueous humor (Mawas), Batonnets of Heiden- 

 hain (Poficard), Carotine (Guilliermond), Cerebrospinal 

 fluid (Grynfelt and Euziere), Chlorophyl (Guilliermond), 

 Chromoplasts (Guilliermond), CiHary apparatus (Saguchi), 

 Connective tissue cell granulations (Renant and Dubreuil), 

 Granulations (Meves), Epidermal cell secretion (Saguchi), 

 Fat (Altmann), Glycogen (Arnold, Alexieff), Goblet cell 

 mucous (Grynfelt), Hemoglobin pigment (Ciaccio), Leuco- 



