CHROMOSOMES Ax\l) MlTO( IIONDUIA ^287 



directly; and It is the opinion of Movos, Dueshcr^S 

 and their followers that they play an iniporlaiit mle 

 in fertilization. Likewise in the spermatozoa ideas 

 differ regarding their functions. I^cnda (IS!)!)) 

 believed them to be motor organs; Kollzofl' (l!)(l(i), 

 from a study of the spermatozoa of Decapods, 

 maintains that they represent elements whidi form 

 a sort of cellular skeleton; Rcgaud (1J)()!)) claims 

 that they are the particular crlhihir organs which 

 exercise a *'fonction eclectique," extracting and 

 fixing substances in the cell, and should Iherefore he 

 called " eclectosomes " ; and Meves (1907, 1908) 

 holds that they are cytoplasmic constituents cor- 

 responding to the chromosomes of the nuch'us. 

 Meves (1907, 1908) came to the conclusion that tliere 

 must be hereditarj^ substances in the cyl()j)la>ni, 

 and by the method of elimination decide(j in faxor 

 of the mitochondria. In his stu(hes on fertihzation 

 and cleavage in Ascaris (Meves, 1911. 1!)M-) he has 

 shown that granules from the spermatozoon (Fig. 

 79) fuse with similar granules in the v^^:,^^, as described 

 previously by L. and R. Zoja (1891), and thai (lie.se 

 granules are plastosomes. The distiibntion of the 

 fused granules is followed until the am|)hiaster is 

 formed in the two-cell stage; here the ])lastosomes 

 are mainly grouped about the centrosomes, although 

 a few are scattered about in the cytoplasm (Fig. 79, 

 D). 



Although there are many who believe Meves and 

 his followers to be correct in their contention that 

 the plastosomes are the bearers of hereditary charac- 



