Kothbauer H
Erstes Zoologisches Institut der Universität Wien, Wien, Deutchsland.
Oecologia. 1970 Mar;6(1):48-57. doi: 10.1007/BF00345222.
The object of this investigation was to find out what significance the agglutinin Anti-A (Prokop et al., 1968a) has for the postembryonal development of Helix pomatia. 1. The agglutinin Anti-A, beside its significance as an immunobiological protection for the living egg, has a conserving and protective function for dead eggs. Dead eggs do not become in any way tainted nor do they rot. 2. A direct relation between Anti-A and the postembryonal development could not be found. The reaction disappears between the ninth and sixteenth day of live and does not reappear till the snails have a fully developed reproductive system. An indirect relation exists in so far as dead eggs strongly promote the growth of young snails which feed on them.