On Phosphorus Metabolism in Embryonic Life

ABSTRACT In the first paper of this series (16) a survey was made of the phosphorus distribution in developing invertebrate eggs with the object of sketching out the broad outlines of the metabolism of this element during ontogenesis. Representative echinoderms, Crustacea, and a podaxonian were examined with respect to the behaviour of total phosphorus, lipoid, phosphoprotein and nucleoprotein phosphorus, total, organic and inorganic water-soluble phosphorus, etc. But interesting as the results of such a survey were, there remained a number of phosphorus compounds which merited study, among which may be named hexosephosphate phosphorus, adenylic acid phosphorus, glycerophosphate phosphorus, phosphorus in combination with cycloses, and phosphagen phosphorus. It is with the latter of these that this paper will deal.