HISTORY OF MITOCHONDRIAL RESEARCH 23 



plasts has been emphasized in recent j'^ears, and has formed 

 the basis for a pertinent and significant theory advanced by 

 Merejkovsky in 1920. On the basis of the relationship of 

 plant plastids to the independent plast-Uke organisms, the 

 blue-green algae, Merejkovsky has advanced the theory that 

 all the higher green plants are sjrmbiotic complexes. A 

 further consideration of Merejkovsky's theory will be given 

 in a subsequent chapter. 



The relationship of mitochondria to secretory processes 

 has been investigated extensively. The results in these 

 researches have led to opposing views. In some instances 

 mitochondria have been shown to enter into secretory 

 activity. In other cases it appears that they are unrelated 

 to this cellular activity. The solution of the problem of the 

 relationship of mitochondria to secretion has a significant 

 bearing on the theory of Symbionticism, and will be dis- 

 cussed at greater length in the chapter on "The Behavior of 

 Mitochondria." 



In 1918 Portier published an extensive treatise entitled: 

 "Les Symbiotes," in which he brought forth evidence to 

 support his theory that mitochondria are bacterial organisms 

 symbiotically combined with the cells of all higher organisms. 

 Many of the views and the fundamental evidence that 

 Portier submitted have not been acceptable to cytologists, 

 bacteriologists, and biologists in general. He quoted an 

 extensive literature which supports his views and we shall 

 have occasion, in a later chapter, to draw upon these ex- 

 amples to illustrate the various degrees of microsymbiosis 

 which may be found in nature. The crucial evidence sub- 

 mitted by Portier was unacceptable to bacteriologists in 

 particular. This evidence had to do with the actual demon- 

 stration of the independent nature of mitochondria. Portier 

 planted tissues in culture media and obtained bacterial 

 growths in the media. An analysis of these experiments 

 revealed possibilities of error which were not taken into 



