The Effect of Acenaphthene and Colchicine on Mitosis of Allium and Colchicum

T H E effect of colchicine on the chromosome mechanism is of a distinctly different nature from the pathological phenomena caused by most other poisonous substances. The most characteristic feature in the action of colchicine is perhaps its extremely keen selectivity. While most other poisons bring about mitotic disturbances in general, colchicine affects only the spindle apparatus. Other vital processes of the chromosomes seem to continue normally, even during colchicine treatments of considerable length. In view of this fact it seems necessary to assume that the colchicine molecule has a specific ability to act directly upon the molecules which build up the spindle organs, the centrosomes and centromeres, while other physical and chemical agents cause more or less complex disturbances of mitosis. In order to stress this point I introduced the term c-mitosis to denote the abnormality of mitosis caused by colchicine.