546 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLIV. No. 1137 



But if the atypical spermatozoa play no part 

 in fertilization, what is then their function? 

 We think we can derive an answer from some 

 experiments carried on during -the winter of 

 1914r-15 on spermatogenesis in vitro, 10 an 

 answer which is in full harmony with the 

 ahove quoted results of other investigators. 



In rearing the sperm follicles of the moth 

 Samia cecropia in tissue-cultures, we found 

 that in the fall the follicles taken from the 

 pupa? finished practically all their normal 

 spermatogenesis and a follicle with apyrene 

 spermatozoa never appeared. But in January 

 and February the results were quite different. 

 The fresh material already contained many 

 degenerating follicles. In the tissue cultures 

 only a very few follicles performed the sper- 

 miogenesis, most of them dying after re- 

 peated unsuccessful trials to undergo the ma- 

 turation divisions. These testes, however, al- 

 ready contained many apyrene follicles. 

 Later in February some pupae were kept in 

 the thermostat for a week. In examining their 

 testes they were found filled with sperm 

 bundles, the great majority of them being 

 apyrene. 



In the same experiment it could be shown, 

 further, that the transformation of a sperm- 

 cell into a spermatozoon is caused by the 

 physical condition of the follicle membrane 

 and can be produced artificially to a certain 

 degree. Now one of the main characteristics 

 of the development of the apyrene spermato- 

 zoa is the production of caryomerites from the 

 chromosomes and their further degeneration. 

 The same phenomenon has been produced by 

 Conklin 11 in the cleavage cells of Crepidula 

 by changing the osmotic conditions of the sur- 

 roundings. Combining these facts, we reach 

 the conclusion that a definite change in the 



10 A full account of that piece of work has 

 probably appeared meanwhile in the Arch. f. Zell- 

 forschung, 1916, under the title: "Einige Ver- 

 suche zur Spermatogenesis in Vitro. ' ' A pre- 

 liminary notice is found in Proc. Nat. Ac. Sc, I., 

 1915. 



ii Conklin,' E. G., "Experimental Studies on 

 Nuclear and Cell-division in the Eggs of Crepi- 

 dula," Jour. Ac. Sc, 15, 1912. 



physical properties of the follicle membrane 

 forces the sperm cells within, physically, to 

 undergo definite atypical changes, which lead 

 to the formation of an apyrene spermium. 

 This process is therefore nothing but the ex- 

 pression of a reaction, necessitated by the 

 physico-chemical properties of the sperm-cell 

 on which the abnormal surroundings act; a 

 reaction produced by abnormal conditions, a 

 teratoma, a lusus natura. The typical form 

 of the abnormal sex-cells for a given species 

 is as much necessitated by the specific sub- 

 stratum as the typical form of a plant-gall. 

 The apyrene spermatozoon is a functionless 

 reaction-product. 



The results derived from the experiments 

 with intersexual animals are in harmony with 

 this conception derived from the study of 

 tissue cultures. It is well known that the 

 chemical properties of the hemolymph in in- 

 sects change during metamorphosis in connec- 

 tion with histolysis, and the entire metabol- 

 ism is put on a different basis, as Weinland 12 

 proved. In the case of the pupas of Samia it 

 is easy to observe, without going into chemical 

 details, that the blood in old pupa? which pro- 

 duce the atypical spermatozoa has very differ- 

 ent properties from those in the young. On 

 the other hand, the work of Steche and 

 Geyer 13 has shown that in the gipsy-moth the 

 chemical characters of the blood are very dif- 

 ferent in the male and female sex. Hence it 

 might reasonably be expected — tests are going 

 to be made — that in intersexual individuals, 

 where every single character is intermediate 

 to a definite degree between the two sexes, the 

 blood is also different from the normal blood, 

 thus producing in the case of intersexual 

 males those physico-chemical conditions which 

 account for the 'formation of the apyrene 

 spermatozoa. 



blchard goldschmidt 



Marine Biological Laboeatoet, 

 Woods Hole, Mass. 



is Weinland, E., ' ' Ueber die Stoffumsetzungen 

 w&hrend der Metamorphose der Fleischfliege, " 

 Ztschr. f. Biol., 47, 1906. 



13 Geyer, K., " Untersuehungen iiber die chem- 

 isehe Zusammensetzung der Insectenhaemo- 

 lymphe, ' ' Ztschr. wiss. Zool., 105, 1913. 



