Study of amylase activities in germinating seeds of two oat varieties

Seeds of two oats varieties were used to measure water content at the early stage of germination and their amylase activities during germination were studied by using dinitrosalicylic acid(DNS) method.The activities and dynamic patterns of α-amylase,β-amylase and total amylase were compared at different stages.The results showed: 1) there were no differences in water uptake per dry matter unit.2) The α-amylase activities were close to zero and β-amylase activities represented the total amylase activities in dry oat seeds.The activities of the two amylases didn't fluctuate during water uptake.3) The activities of the two amylases gradually increased after germination occurred and reached peak at 78-96 h,and decreased along with the reserved starch reduction.4) The activities of α-amylase,β-amylase and total amylase of variety Qinhai444 was higher than that of Qingyin No.1.