Scientists at NIAB are working with the John Innes Centre at Norwich to identify four barley starch genes so that varieties can be honed to meet the needs of the end-user.
Starch is the main source of calories in food and feed. It is the major constituent of flour for baking, pasta and noodle production, a substrate for alcohol production in the brewing, distilling and bio-ethanol industries and a major industrial raw material, with multiple uses in food and non-food industries.
Starch is the most abundant storage carbohydrate in plants; it makes up 70% of harvested wheat grain. The functional properties of starch are determined by the ratios and molecular structures of amylopectin and amylose and the way in which they are packed.
The research funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council’s (BBSRC) Innovation in Crop Science Initiative has already identified a waxy starch gene that is ideal for stabilising sauces in frozen food.
A sugary starch that could allow brewers and distillers to produce peak alcohol yields at lower temperatures has been identified as well as a starch that humans are unable to digest. This starch, along with a similar one being produced in Australia, has a niche in the diet food market. As these starches are indigestible it means people stay full for longer. The fourth mutated low-starch gene identified does not have an end-use at present.
The genes that have been identified have been crossed into a malting barley variety NFC Tipple. It is envisaged that once the traits have been evaluated by end-users the genes could be made available to breeders.
The NIAB Innovation Farm exhibit features The Smart Carbohydrate Centre’s work on barley.
