Abstract

The behavior of nucleoside triphosphate diphosphatase (NTDPase) of pea cotyledon chromatin was investigated by a comparison of the activities of amylase and protease in the cytoplasm. The activities of NTDPase and amylase increased from the 3rd to the 5th day during germination, but the activity of protease increased more rapidly at the stage of imbibition. The inhibitors actinomycin D and cycloheximide markedly inhibited the increase in the activities of NTDPase and amylase, but their inhibition of protease was much less. Inhibition of germination by salt stress was accompanied by reductions in the increases in NTDPase and protease activities, but not by a reduction in amylase activity. Removal of the embryo from dormant seeds had the same effect on these activities as salt stress did. These results suggest that formation of the NTDPase in the chromatin of the cotyledon is under the control of the embryonic tissue.

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