ABSTRACT
The inhibitory action of enzyme inhibitors may be exerted against endogenous enzymes such as alpha-amylase-2 in barley as well as against enzymes from bacteria, fungi and mammals tentatively protecting the seeds from infestation and digestion. Enzymes such as beta-amylase and enzyme inhibitors such as CI-1 and CI-2 are synthesized on the same template - the rough endoplasmic reticulum as are the hordeins. The synthesis of different enzymes in the aleurone thus seems to be stimulated/inhibited by either gibberellic acid or abscisic acid or is not affected by plant hormones. Dormancy and pre-harvest sprouting are essential phenomena dependent on the balance of enzymes and inhibitors finally assembled in the ripe desiccated seed as well as on the potential induction of de novo synthesized polypeptides. The enzymatic, the inhibitory and the storage function seem thus to be different parts of the same package of storage proteins synthesized together on the rough endoplasmic reticulum in the endosperm cells.
