The NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase precursor protein (pPorA) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Carina), synthesized from a full-length cDNA clone by coupling in vitro transcription and translation, is a catalytically active protein. It converts protochlorophyllide to chlorophyllide in a light- and NADPH-dependent manner. At least the pigment product of catalysis remains tightly bound to the precursor protein. The chlorophyllide-pPorA complex differs markedly from the protochlorophyllide-pPorA complex with respect to sensitivity to attack by a light-induced, nucleus-encoded, and energy-dependent protease activity of barley plastids. The pPorA-chlorophyllide complex is rapidly degraded, in contrast to pPorA-protochlorophyllide complexes containing or lacking NADPH, which are both resistant to protease treatment. Unexpectedly, pPorA devoid of its substrates or products was less sensitive to proteolysis than the pPorA-chlorophyllide complex, suggesting that both substrate binding and product formation during catalysis had caused differential changes in protein conformation.