Research on endosperm development in wheat and barley could improve bread and noodle quality and help create biodegradable plastic.
Plant science researchers Ravindra Chibbar and Brian Fowler of the University of Saskatchewan will study endosperm with Christer Jansson from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
A $273,000 grant from the Swedish Foundation for International Co-operation in Research and Higher Education will fund an exchange of graduate students and researchers between the two countries over the next four years.
Chibbar said crop quality originates in the endosperm, which contains much of the seed’s starch, protein and fat.
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By studying mechanisms at the molecular level and using genomic tools developed through the Genome Prairie-Genome Canada project launched in 2001, researchers hope to make improvements for end users such as brewers and bakers. Uses can also be extended to medical and agricultural applications, he added.
Fowler said the study will focus on starch, look at several genes and try to understand endosperm development.
“The product the farmer produces is the last step,” he said.
“If we understand systems between genes, then it’s easier to manipulate them.”
Industrial uses of starch include face and talcum powders in cosmetics, bleaching agents in detergents, fire resistance in textiles and biodegradable fillers in plastics. Starch can also be used in organ preservation in medical products and seed coatings and mulches in the agrochemical industry.
