ClIEM(JTnui'lSM. 63 



to their piuijorty uf uttnicting the invader, may he of such 

 a character as to jtreclu<lo its growth. Further informatioii 

 with regard txi this l>i()logic-alIy interesting and jinieticallv 

 important question may In- fuund in handbooks on jdant 

 diseaHos ; and a few relevant remarks will also he made later 

 on in connection with the rotting of fruit and " sweet-rot " iu 

 grapes. 



In the absence of a jnore favourable opportunity, a few geuei-ul 

 remarks on the secretion of proteolytic enzymes (^ 170) by 

 Kuuiycetes may be made here. The first record of a gelatin- 

 <lissol\ ing Eumycetes enzyme was that made by Auulf JIansex 

 (I.) in i88y, in cultures of Mitcor iitucedu and Peuicillium 

 ij/uiiruiii. Two years later it was shown by A. Wkidexbaum 

 (1.) that Oiditnii Iwtia and Oi'h'uiii aUii<'(iti.< dilfer from one 

 another, inasmuch as the latter does not cause the liquefactiou 

 of the gelatinous nutrient medium under any circumstJinces, 

 whereas liquefaction is produced l)y the former organism when 

 the medium has an acid reaction. According to Zoi'F (X.), 

 HonnDilefulniit rhulitfixjrvith.'." is incapable of secreting such 

 an enzyme. Subsequently, C. Weumeh (XII.) examined a 

 numbi'i- of mould fungi in this connection, and found that, when 

 grown in a nutrient medium (beer wort, dextrose-nutrient- 

 salt-solution) conttiining 10 per cent, of gelatin, the following : 

 AxiHrijillus tiiijer, A. ori/za-, A. raw I id 11^, A. miniiinui, A. C.</m«j^-, 

 .1. nan's, Penicillium ijl'iurum, P. uliracetim, P. ifalicuni, P. lut'>u)it, 

 liofn/fis rinen'd, and Cejihaloihi'i-ium rut^'.'uin will litjuefy about one 

 half the medium within ten days, and produce complete lique- 

 faction in two to three weeks. The result,s were indefinite in 

 the case of AKpn-'/i//uit i/lancit.<, A. /iniiii/a/i<.<, and A. rariatin. 

 .Vccording to later report-s by the same worker, a slight liijuefac- 

 tion of the gelatin is also elTected by Murur Itouj-ii and .1/. 

 javaiiinu<. In the course of a comprehensive investigation on 

 the occmience and activity of a gelatin-dissolving enzvme in 

 various members of the vegetable kingdom — including a 

 nund)er of fungi — Fkk.mi anil BrscACi.io.M (I.) obtiiinivl 

 atlirmativo results with sundiy edible fungi, as also with 

 ''Inricejts 2fit>Tii''''^} Aaji't'i/illiut jiaru.'i, itc. 



The occurrence of enzymes capable of dissolving casein was 

 investigated by E. liofugrEl.oT and H. IIkkissev (I.), who 

 lound such a one present in about 20 out of 12b species of fungi 

 examined, cj. in Amanita muscaria, Boletus rtluiis, Jcc. Botli 

 worki'rs lu)ld this enzyme to bo identical, or at least certainlv 

 very nearly allied to, trypsin, since, like the latter, it furnishes 

 tjnrosin. J. IIjokt (l.> succeeiled in detecting the pre.-ence of 

 similar enzymes, capabU- of digesting fibrin, in various higher 

 fungi; they afterwards completely degrade the peptone fornuxl, 

 trom the above substmce, along with leucin and tvrosin. E*'^ 

 albumin is also attacked at the ordinary temperature. ZorK 



