VARIATION OF α-AMYLASE, β-AMYLASE, β-GLUCANASE, PULLULANASE, PROTEINASE AND CHITINASE ACTIVITY IN GERMINATED SAMPLES OF THE WILD PROGENITOR OF BARLEY

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Abstract
Six enzyme activites, α-amylase, β-amylase, β-glucanase, pullulanase, proteinase and chitinase were determined in the extracts of five-day germinated samples of 175 strains of the wild barley, Hordeum vulgare ssp. spontaneum. The variations and means calculated on grain mass and soluble protein was compared with samples from cv. Bomi included in the determination sets. The activity variations of all the enzymes were found to be wide in the wild barleys, and the mean activity was usually significantly different (higher) in wild barley than in cv. Bomi. The two enzyme activities, typically quite high in wild barley, are β-amylase and β-glucanase. α-Amylase showed a wide range of activity variation starting almost from a zero activity in some strains. The corresponding enzyme inhibitor activities were not determined, but they are assumed also to vary and interfere with some of the enzyme activities. Because of the simple inheritance of the enzyme genes, recombination of a desired enzyme gene into malting barley genetic backgrounds is expected to be feasible by conventional crossing and selection.