Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-28

Mysterious Tronsmutction
Process Being Studied
By Thomos R. Henry
MOUNTAIN LAKE. Wa mysteri-
Gus mechanism far in the depths of
life. by which single complex body
chemical causes the transmutation of
an insect and produces sex in micro
scopic one-celled plant which is para
site in the bugs body, is being studied
by University OF Virginia's biologists
here.
Confined to the southern Appala-
lachians Is cockroach. member of q
very ancient family. which lives en-
tirely in dead wood. It cannot digest
the wood. per sc. This must be done
for it-that is. the cellulose of the wood
must be converted into digestible
starches and sugars-by q highly spe-
cialized group of bacteria. the fiagellates,
which live inside the insects body.
In this respect the wood roach Is
quite similar to the far better known
termite. or white ant. TermiteS are
considered remote members of the
roach family. with no actual relation
ship to ants. They also eat wood but
cannot digest it. This must be done
for them also by parasitic micro-organ-
isms which live in their bodies.
Without these bacteria, both roach
and termite would starve to death. The
strange animal-plant partnership is
essential to the lives of BOTH Here,
however. the similarity seems to end.
Termites Born Free
The termite is Matched from an egg
and emerges without any Of the essen
tial micro organisms. The insect must
pick them up from its environment
during the first few hours Of life. The
termite flagellates are sexleSs-the usual
condition among bacteria.
Through q special mechanism. the
newborn roach comes into the world
with a plentiful supply of the necessary
Notwithstanding micro-organisms. In
the course of its life it Notwithstanding
its skin and taking on new form
eight times, once for each year Of its
existence. This process, it now is
known. Is induced by special insect
hormone. and extremely potent body
chemical secreted by some gland. The
phenomenon is nearly universal in the
insect kingdom and the hormone is one
Of the wonder drugs of nature.
But the same hormone. it has been
determined, also affects the fiagellates
inside the roach and causes them to
become males and females for brief
interval, during which they fuse to-
gether and then split into new indi-
vidualS. Then the sex distinction Is
lost until the next moulting, a year
later Reproduction continues by the
splitting process common to micro
organisms.
The phenomenon was discovered here
a. few years ago by DR.. r. L. Cleveland
of Harvard University and is now being
followed by University of Virginia work.
ers for what light it may throw on the
origin of maleness and femaleness
among micro-organisms which consti-
tute the broad base of animal and
plant life.
6-FOot Spiders Once Supreme.
Once giant spiders ruled the world.
Their realm was the earth of the Silur-
ian geological era $50 million years ago
"a time of quiet seas which, especially
in the Northern Hemisphere, covered
large areas which now are dry land,
They were the euripterids whose clos
est extant relatives probably are the
horseshoe crab with sky-blue blood
which Is common along the Atlantic
Coast of the United States and the
venom-fanged scorpions. They exceeded
in size all living invertebrate animals.
Many Of the species gigantostroca were
five to six feet long. One was nine
feet long.
These euripterids presumably were
free-swimming, predacious creatures
with massive jaws. Their chief prey. 1t
Is believed, were the much smaller.
crab-like trilobiteS with which they
may have shared common ancestry.
These were shelled animals. the i'm
prints of whose hard shells In sea
bottom mud which later became rock
are among the most ancient records of
animal life on the planet. These trilo-
bites were creatures which crawled on
the sea bottom. Their only defense
was to roll themselves in ball. They
appear to have been the dominant
life of the sea for at least 100 million
years.
They continued a precarious exist
ence after the evolution Of the great
pseudo scorpions but were well on their
way to extinction. The massive jaws
of the euripterids could crush their
shells with ease.
Opposed by. Giant Mollusks.
The dominance Of these masters of
the sea could be threatened only by
the gigantic mollusks, the cephalopods,
but for many milleniums they appear
to have held their own with these
frightful monsters.
Their decline had begun by the end
Of the Silurian period and they were
extinct in another 100 million years.
The reason for their decline is unknown
but it perhaps was related to some
decided change in the temperature and
distribution Of the waters. Remarkably
well preserved remains of the monsters
have been found imbedded in lime
stone on Oesel Island In the Baltic.
During the Silurian period life was