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
Castle[77] observed and studied the phenomenon of self-sterility in an
Ascidian, _Ciona intestinalis_, which is hermaphroditic. Animals which
were kept isolated discharged both eggs and sperm into the surrounding
sea water. Often no egg was fertilized, but in some cases five, ten, or
as many as fifty per cent. of the eggs could be successfully fertilized
with sperm from the same individual; while if several individuals
were put into the same dish as a rule one hundred per cent. of the
eggs which were discharged segmented. Morgan[78] found that the eggs
of various females differ in their power of being fertilized by sperm
of the same individual while one hundred per cent. could usually be
fertilized with sperm of a different individual. He found in addition
that if the eggs of _Ciona_ are put for about ten minutes into a
two per cent. ether solution in sea water in a number of cases the
percentage of eggs fertilized by sperm of the same individual shows a
slight increase. Fuchs[79] has reported results similar to those of
Castle and Morgan.
[77] Castle, W. E., _Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoöl._, Harvard, 1896, xxvii.,
203.
[78] Morgan, T. H., _Jour. Exper. Zoöl._, 1904, i., 135; _Arch. f.
Entwcklngsmech._, 1910, xxx., 206.
[79] Fuchs, H. M., _Jour. Genet._, 1915, iv., 215.
A new point of attack has been introduced into the work of
self-sterility in plants by the consideration of heredity. Darwin
found that in _Reseda_ which is monœcious (or hermaphroditic)
certain individuals are either completely self-sterile or completely
self-fertile; and Compton showed that apparently self-fertility is a
Mendelian dominant to self-sterility.[80]
[80] Quoted from Fuchs.
According to Jost this self-sterility in hermaphroditic plants is due
to the fact that if pollen of the same plant is used the normal growth
of the pollen tube is inhibited, while this inhibition does not exist
for pollen from a different individual. Correns calls these substances
which prevent the adequate growth of pollen, “inhibitory” substances,
and finds that they can apparently be transmitted to the offspring. He
made experiments on _Cardamine pratensis_ which is self-sterile.[81] He
fertilized two individuals of _Cardamine_ crosswise and raised sixty
plants of the first generation. He compared the fertility of these
F₁ plants toward (_a_) their parents, and (_b_) foreign plants. All
the fertilizations with the foreign plants were successful, but the
fertilizations with the parents were only partly successful. According
to their reaction they could be divided into four groups:
(_A_) fertile with both parents. Type bg
(_B_) fertile with one (B), sterile with the other parent (G).
(_a_) fertile with B, sterile with G. Type bG
(_b_) fertile with G, sterile with B. Type Bg
(_C_) sterile with both parents. Type BG
[81] Correns, C., _Biol. Centralbl._, 1913, xxxiii., 389.
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