This study investigated whether rice exhibits exceptions to the accepted model, in cereals, for the induction of a and P-amylase in the embryo and endosperm during germination. We also tried to establish whether different patterns of induction were cultivar specific, or due to the influence of ripening temperature, or a component of the incubation medium. An isoelectric focusing technique was used to monitor a- and P-amylase activities, a spectrophotometric assay was used to quantify the activity of a-amylase, and two cDNA clones, RAmy3D and RAmylA, were used to measure a-amylase RNA accumulation by Northern analysis. Distinct patterns of induction of a-and P-amylase activity in the embryo and endosperm regions were determined to exist between cultivars, and they were not controlled by either the ripening temperature or a component of the incubation medium. We concluded that the observed differences were cultivar specific
