Biology and Agriculture Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Bombay-400 085
The enzyme protease was extracted from germinating barley seeds grown for 96 hours and was assayed in media of pH range 3.7–8.0, having casein as substrate. At these early stages of germination, protease activity was found to be maximum at pH 5.5 except that in embryo it was more at higher pH values beyond 72nd hour. The results uphold the current practice of carrying out protease measurements in acidic medium during germination.
