June 15, 1900.] 



SCIENCE. 



933 



tinuous self- decomposition and regeneration 

 of protoplasm, as Pfliiger and Detmer as- 

 sume, as to a previous activifying of oxygen 

 as various other authors had supposed; but, 

 as I have repeatedly pointed out, to an ' ac- 

 tivifying of the thermogens ' by a charge with 

 chemical energy from the protoplasm. An 

 activified oxygen (ozone) or also hydrogen 

 peroxid would kill the protoplasm sooner 

 than it would burn up fat and sugar to car- 

 bonic acid and water. Indeed, nature has 

 provided every living cell with a special 

 enzyme which decomposes rapidly any trace 

 of hydrogen peroxid that might make its ap- 

 pearance as a by-product in the active course 

 of the cellular respiration, f 



Other functions than chemical ones, as for 

 instance the intricate phenomena of karyo- 

 kinesis or the remarkable differentiation 

 into ectoderm, entoderm, and mesoderm, or 

 the differentiation of nervous fibers, al- 

 though they are still very mysterious, also 

 depend primarily upon the labile nature 

 of the proteins. , Not the slightest advance 

 towards an understanding of these phe- 

 nomena can be expected when this is dis- 

 regarded. 



The primum movens in the living proto- 

 plasm must be defined as a mode of motion 

 of labile atoms in the plasma proteins ; that 

 is, as a special case of chemical energy. Living 

 protoplasm has often been compared to a 

 watch and dead protoplasm to a watch 

 whose machinery has been destroyed by 

 crushing, but this comparison is not a 

 proper analogy, for, while the chemical char- 

 acter of the watch material remains un- 

 ohanged after pulverizing, that of the dying 

 protoplasm does not, but it undergoes a 

 ■chemical change. 



These deductions must necessarily lead 

 to the further question : Is there any evi- 



fA detailed description o£ this enzyme will be 

 given in a special Bulletin of the U. S. Dep't of Agri- 

 culture. A preliminary note appeared in Science 

 recently. 



dence of labile proteins existing before the 

 organization into living matter is accom- 

 plished? Is any not yet organized fore- 

 runner of living protoplasm found in cells ? 

 Investigations of Dr. Th. Bokorny and my- 

 self carried on for a number of years have 

 demonstrated beyond a doubt that there 

 indeed occurs in many plants a reserve pro- 

 tein matter of highly labile nature, different 

 from all other reserve proteins. It under- 

 goes a great change under the same condi- 

 tions that cause the death of the protoplasm 

 itself, although more slowly. It seems log- 

 ical to conceive this as the material which, 

 by being converted into organized nucleo 

 proteids, forms the living matter. The 

 ordinary proteins must be brought first 

 into the labile easily changeable condition 

 before they can serve this purpose. We 

 designated that labile reserve protein as 

 active albumin or proto-protein, in contra- 

 distinction to the passive reserve proteins. 



This peculiar, easily changeable body is 

 met with in certain groups of plants very 

 frequently, as in Juliflorse, Cystoflorse, ^- 

 sculineffi, Saxifraginete, Myrtiflorse, and 

 Eosiflorte, while in others rarely, as in Com- 

 positse, Labiatse, Leguminosse, and Gramin- 

 ese, in fungi and in algse. Spirogyra forms 

 an exception with the algse, inasmuch as 

 this special group contains often very large 

 quantities of the labile reserve protein. The 

 widespread occurrence of this substance may 

 be inferred from the fact that of 250 species 

 examined by Th. Bokorny, G. Daikuhara, 

 and myself, fully 120 were found to con- 

 tain it in one part or other. 



Of special objects rich in this proto-protein 

 may be enumerated : Leaves of Primus, 

 Rosa, Quercus, Alnus, Mimosa, Pceonia, Saxi- 

 fraga, Sidum, and Cephalotus, the bark of 

 Primus, Quercus, and Fagus ; petals of Genti- 

 ana, Primula, Sorhus, Cyclamen, Hotteia, and 

 Cornus ; stamens of Eugenia, Drosera, and 

 Melaleuca ; pistils of Crocus, Salix, Euphorbia, 

 and Rhododendron; nectaria of Passiflora; 



