Protease
Effect of water stress on protease activity in TKM-1
and I.S. shoots and 72 hr imbibed seeds is shown in Table
4. Protease activity was higher in TKM-1 as compared
to I.S. both in 72 hr imbibed seeds and 8day-old shoots.
At 72 hr imbibition only trace of protease activity was
detected in I.S. In TKM-1 protease activity decreased
with increase in water stress at 72 hr imbibition. On the
other hand protease activity in shoots of TKM-1 increased
appreciably with increase in water stress up to
- 10 bars JI thereafter it decreased slightly. The sp. act.
of protease in I.S. shoots decreased after - 5 bars 1(1T. he
sp. act. of protease in TKM-1 shoots was considerably
higher than I.S. shoots at all the moisture stress levels. At
- 15 bars $ the protease activity in I.S. was 25 % of the
activity in TKM-1 shoots. The roots of both the varieties
did not show any protease activity. Considerably higher
protease activity in shoots of TKM-1, the drought
tolerant variety compared to I.S. might be of significance
in drought adaptability since seedlings have to adapt
during water stress and adjust the metabolism in such a