COMPARATIVE STUDIES ON RESPIRATION : XI. THE EFFECT OF HYDROGEN ION CONCENTRATION ON THE RESPIRATION OF PENICILLIUM CHRYSOGENUM.

1. Variations in pH value between 4 and 8 produce practically no effect on the normal rate of respiration (the rate at neutrality is called normal). 2. Increasing the pH value to 8.80 causes respiration to fall to 60 per cent of the normal, after which it remains stationary for the duration of the experiment. 3. Decreasing the pH value to 2.65 causes a gradual rise and a gradual return to normal; at pH 1.10 to 1.95 the preliminary rise amounts to 20 per cent and is followed by a fall to below the normal. 4. The decrease in respiration brought about by solutions of a pH value of 1.95 or less are irreversible, while a similar decrease which occurs at pH 8.80 is reversible, the rate coming back to practically normal after the material is replaced in a neutral solution. 5. Determinations by means of Winkler's method showed an increase in the consumption of oxygen in acid solutions and a decrease in alkaline solutions.