Role of vacuolar membrane proton pumps in the acidification of protein storage vacuoles following germination.

During soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) seed development, protease C1, the proteolytic enzyme that initiates breakdown of the storage globulins β-conglycinin and glycinin at acidic pH, is present in the protein storage vacuoles (PSVs), the same subcellular compartments in seed cotyledons where its protein substrates accumulate. Actual proteolysis begins to be evident 24 h after seed imbibition, when the PSVs become acidic, as indicated by acridine orange accumulation visualized by confocal microscopy.