Pyrimidine Derivatives and Purine Bases in Soils

In earlier papers the presence of protein decomposition products in soils was reported and it was shown that in soils the changes occurring in the decay of such plant and animal materials as get into the soil are similar to the changes occuring under other conditions in the laboratory or in nature. The presence of arginine and histidine in soils was definitely established by isolating these degradation products of proteins from soils. In the present paper will be found a further report on the isolation of other nitrogenous compounds from soils, pyrimidine derivatives and purine bases, resulting from the decomposition of nucleoproteids present in the plant and animal remains that find their way into the soil. The compounds isolated are the pyrimidine derivative, cytosine, and the purine bases, xanthine and hypoxanthine. In addition to protein which breaks up into amino acids, there are in the cell nucleus what are known as nucleoproteids. These nucleoproteids are combinations of protein with a non-protein radical. This non-protein radical known as nucleic acid is a complex body of unknown constitution, but its decomposition products are well known. These are: Phosphoric acid, a characteristic and constant product; pentose sugar, usually present; laevulinic acid, sometimes present; pyrimidine derivatives, always present; and purine bases, always present. These last two groups