Effect of anoxia on gibberellic acid-induced protease and β-amylase processing in barley seeds

In barley seeds beta-amylase is synthesized during the development of the grain, where it accumulates bound to starch granules. As germination proceeds, beta-amylase is released through proteolytic processing leading to a free form of the enzyme having a 5 kD lower molecular weight. Under anoxia, barley seeds are unable to germinate and both alpha-amylase synthesis and beta-amylase processing are inhibited. We report here data on the effects of anoxia on the induction of the protease responsible for the release of beta-amylase in barley seeds. The results show that barley seeds kept under anoxia fail to produce the endoprotease involved in the processing of beta-amylase. This is likely the consequence of the lack of response of-barley seeds to GA(3) under anoxic conditions.