The Organism as a Whole, from a Physicochemical ViewpointLoeb, Jacques
Science
The Organism as a Whole, from a Physicochemical Viewpoint
Loeb, Jacques
Biology; Life (Biology); Mendel's law
The first one to recognize the existence of two kinds of spermatozoa
was Henking, who stated that in _Pyrrhocoris_ (a Hemipteran) one-half
of the spermatozoa of each male possessed a nucleolus, while in
the other half it was lacking. Montgomery afterward showed that
Henking’s nucleolus was an accessory chromosome. McClung was the
first to recognize the importance of this fact for the problem of sex
determination. He observed an accessory chromosome in one-half of the
spermatozoa of two forms of Orthoptera, _Brachystola_ and _Hippiscus_,
and reached the following conclusion:
A most significant fact, and one upon which almost all
investigators are united in opinion, is that the element is
apportioned to but one-half of the spermatozoa. Assuming it to
be true that the chromatin is the important part of the cell
in the matter of heredity, then it follows that we have two
kinds of spermatozoa that differ from each other in a vital
matter. We expect, therefore, to find in the offspring two sorts
of individuals in approximately equal numbers, under normal
conditions, that exhibit marked differences in structure. A careful
consideration will suggest that nothing but sexual characters thus
divides the members of a species into two well-defined groups,
and we are logically forced to the conclusion that the peculiar
chromosome has some bearing upon the arrangement.
N. M. Stevens and E. B. Wilson[183] have not only proved the
correctness of this idea for a number of animals but have laid the
foundation of our present knowledge of the subject. Wilson showed that
in those cases where there are two types of spermatozoa, one with and
one without an accessory or as it is now called an X chromosome, all
the cells of the female have one chromosome more than the cells of the
male. From this he concludes correctly that in such species a female is
produced when the egg is fertilized by a spermatozoön containing an X
chromosome, while a male is produced when a spermatozoön without an X
chromosome enters the egg.
[183] Wilson, E. B., “Studies on Chromosomes,” _Jour. Exper. Zoöl._,
1905, ii., 371, 507; 1906, iii., 1; 1909, vi., 69, 147; 1910, ix.,
53; 1912, xiii., 345. “Croonian Lecture,” 1914, _Proc. Roy. Soc._, B.
lxxxviii., 333.
Such a form is _Protenor_, one of the Hemiptera. Wilson made sure
that all the eggs are alike in the number of chromosomes, each
egg containing an X chromosome in addition to the six chromosomes
characteristic of the species _Protenor_. There are two types
of spermatozoa in equal numbers in this species, each with six
chromosomes, but one with, the other without, an X chromosome. The
two possible chromosome combinations between egg and spermatozoa are
therefore as follows (see the diagrammatic Fig. 39):
_Egg_ _Spermatozoön_ _Result_
(1) 6 + X + 6 = 12 + X = Male
(2) 6 + X + 6 + X = 12 + 2X = Female
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