On the Reserve Protein in Plants. 



BY 



G. Daikuhara, Ndgakushi. 



While in the seeds the reserve protein forms small globules 

 called aleuron, it is with fully developed plants in many cases 

 not yet decided how the reserve protein occurs. It is, however, 

 generally supposed that albumen is present in solution in all 

 the plant juices and this albumen may be used up in all 

 those instances when a considerable amount is wanted at a 

 certain time, as for instance during the ripening of the seeds. 

 Recent investigations have shown, however, that the albumen 

 dissolved in the vacuole is not always the ordinary or passive 

 albumen, but in many cases a very unstable albuminous 

 body which is closely related to the albuminous substance 

 in the living protoplasm, and which has been called active 

 albumen. This changes its nature soon after the cell dies, 

 and is turned into the ordinary or passive albumen. In many 

 cases, however, this active reserve protein in the vacuole 

 is changed in this way while the cells are still alive. It has 

 not yet been determined how far this active albumen is con- 

 nected with the production of amido-compounds which takes 

 place when the branches of trees are placed in water, or when 

 entire plants are kept deprived of light, or when leaf-buds de- 

 velop on the branches in the spring. I have made, therefore, a 

 series of experiments to obtain some information about the func- 

 tion of the active albumen which is found in the bark, leaves, 

 flowers, and roots of numerous trees, as Quercus, Tilia, Pceonia, 

 Fagus, Primus, etc. This active albumen can be easily found 

 by treatment with coffein under the microscope. Cells con- 

 taining it will show at first numerous little globules in the 

 vacuole, which flow together to one or several large drops, 



i) See Locw and Bokomy, Flora 1892; and Biol. Centralbl. 1891. 



