The steps (or so I am led to believe...). On with the germination! Thank you again to my biology teacher for teaching me everything I know about this!
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- The first step needed is water. Without out none of the following would occur. Think of it as the activator. So step one, water needs to touch the seed.
- This activates a hormone in the cotyledon of the seed (the starchy reserves, used for initial growth), which goes by the fanciful name of gibberrellin. For some reason I always think of the word gerbil...
- Gibberrellin activates the production of amylase, which is an enzyme that helps to break down starch.
- Amylase causes the hydrolyses of some of the starch reserves into maltose (starch is a polysaccharide and maltose is a disaccharide). Hydrolysis, for those who don't remember is the process whereby macromolecules are broken down into smaller molecules using water. That's why we needed water...
- Finally, the maltose is then converted into glucose (hydrolysed again). Maltose is a disaccharide molecule made up of two glucose molecules, which when broken down make two glucose molecules, which are monosaccharides. Glucose can then be used to undergo cellular respiration, allowing the seed to begin growth.
Voila! There we have it, the first steps of germination.
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