THE ROLE OF PROLINE IN THE AMINO ACID METABOLISM OF GERMINATING BARLEY

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Abstract
The changes in nitrogen composition in germinating barley have been studied under malting conditions. It has been shown that most amino acids are produced in the endosperm, by peptidase activity, in the correct concentrations required for protein synthesis in the embryo. During growth the total concentrations of free and combined glutamic acid, glycine and ammonia decrease with the concurrent increases in the total concentration of free and combined proline, aspartic acid and lysine. No evidence has been found for the presence of an end product inhibition of peptidase activity in the endosperm. Thus in malting the growth of the embryo is shown to serve a useful purpose in the removal of amino acids from the endosperm.