Encodes an α-glucan, water dikinase required for starch degradation. Involved in cold-induced freezing tolerance. Mutations that eliminate the GWD protein or affect the dikinase domain of the enzyme dramatically reduce both the amount of phosphate in the amylopectin and the rate of starch degradation. Mature leaves of these mutants accumulate amounts of starch up to seven times greater than those in wild-type leaves. NMR analysis of the mutants, suggests that the gene is specifically involved in the phosphorylation of the glucosyl residues of starch at the C6 position.
