Amylase Activity in Germinating Barley

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There is no change in amylase activity for all three control experiment for the dormant, germinating and whole seedling. However, it took 11 minutes for the treatment experiment in germinating seeds and 15 minutes for the treatment experiment in whole seeds. This goes the same for maltose activity, with the only the two treatment experiment for germinating and whole seeds respectively showing a slight brick-red colour. The weight is also the lowest for dormant seeds, which is only at 0.38 g when compared to germinating seeds having 0.77 g. Also, the volume after filtration, dormant seeds have the lowest value at 7.5 ml.

Discussions:

The results above shows that the amylase activity was the highest in germinating seeds than compared to the other seeds. The reasoning behind this is that when seeds are whole or dormant, starch degradation becomes very slow during the growth stages. Active mobilization of starch occurs when seeds are germinating and ready to sprout (Murtaza and Asghar, 2012, p. 1823-1829). Amylase activity is still able to occur in whole seeds as starch degradation is not completely stopped yet, albeit the time taken for amylase activity is slower than in germinating seeds. As for maltose activity in barley seeds, none showed any difference except for the two treatment seeds, which was the germinating and whole seeds. Both displayed a slight brick-red colour. The reasoning behind this is similar to the amylase activity in barley seeds. Furthermore, germinating seeds has the heaviest weight when compared to the rest, as this is because they are able to absorb water and nutrients much more efficiently than dormant or whole seeds.

A few errors may have popped out during the duration of this experiment. Some of them are that they were not enough amylase extract that was produced initially. The lacking of this amylase extract had caused the use of the extract to be used very sparingly, thus making the result may be much slower than what was initially expected. Also, time was also a constraint for this experiment. As a result, the diluted extract had to be increased in its concentration. Increasing the concentration from its original value could have lead the final results being incorrect.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the aim and hypothesis of the experiment was met. Seeds that were germinated had a much higher reaction time then compared to the other seeds. Germinating seeds had a reaction time of 11 minutes in the amylase activity, the highest of the rest.

References

Brandt, A. (2002, October 15). Metabolism in germinating seeds. Retrieved from http://www.crc.dk/yeast/yeasthome/yeasthome/research/research_abb.htm

Murtaza, G., & Asghar, R. (2012). α-AMYLASE ACTIVITIES DURING SEED DEVELOPMENT AND GERMINATION IN PEA (PISUM SATIVUM L.) TREATED WITH SALICYLIC ACID, 44(6), 1823-1829.