A new member of the Lea B19 gene family from barley, termed B19.1b, has been isolated and characterized. The coding region of B19.1b is highly similar to the other members of the B19 family (Espelund et al., Plant J 2 (1992) 241-252) and contains only one copy of the hydrophilic sequence found as a repeat in two other B19 genes. Like the other B19 genes, B19.1b is only expressed in embryos. The transcript appears during development at 25 days after anthesis and remains at a high level throughout embryogenesis. In immature embryos the B19.1b mRNA can be induced by abscisic acid, salt and mannitol.