Abstract
THE surface layer of wheat roots which are put in distilled water behaves like a membrane charged with hydrogen ions in a concentration of about 10-3 N. (pH = ca. 3)1. If a neutral salt is added to the water, the metallic cations are adsorbed in exchange for part of the hydrogen ions. As a consequence, the actual pH of the protoplasmic membrane increases; in a 10-3 N. solution of potassium chloride it is about pH = 6. If the solution has pH = 7 a potential difference of about 58 mv. occurs. The protoplasmic membrane is then negative relatively to the solution. This negative charge is the normal state of the absorption cells of the root tissue.
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References
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Krogh, A., NATURE, 140, 755 (1937).
Arens, K., Jahrb. Wiss. Botanik, 83, 561 (1936).
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LUNDEGÅRDH, H. An Electro-Chemical Theory of Salt Absorption and Respiration. Nature 143, 203–204 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/143203a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/143203a0
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