The Function of Urease inCitrullusSeeds

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Abstract
Urease is present in considerable quantity in the cotyledons of Citrullus, though elsewhere in the plant it is present only in traces or is absent; urease activity in the cotyledons changes during growth, showing an initial rise followed by an abrupt drop almost to zero. These changes, under a wide variety of conditions, are not correlated with those in the major nitrogen fractions; they are, however, closely correlated with cell extension and the associated changes in water content and respiration. A connexion with chlorophyll formation is possible but unlikely. It is suggested that the changes in cotyledonary urease constitute merely one aspect of the ‘protoplasmic differentiation’ that takes place as a cell matures.