One promising candidate for a “germination-specific”
gene could be the one that encodes the protein germin
(Lane, 1991), which is an oxalate oxidase. However, by its
nature, the timing of its synthesis, and its potential metabolic
functions (Lane, 1994), germin is more likely to be involved
with postgerminative cell elongation. Thus, the
search for specific protein markers with an exclusive role in
germination must continue.