the international scientific research team recently found a way to improve the quality of wheat。 Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the John inners center in the UK have found a genetic driver that can improve wheat yield characteristics. Unexpectedly, it can also increase protein content by 25%
Dr Scott Boden of the school of agriculture, food and wine at the University of Adelaide, who led the study, said: "little is known about the mechanisms behind the drivers of yield and protein content in wheat production. The discovery of a gene controlling these two factors may help produce new wheat varieties and produce higher quality grains".
Since wheat accounts for nearly 20% of the world's protein consumption, the impact of this study can greatly benefit society by providing grains with higher protein content, so it can help produce more nutritious foods, such as bread and Breakfast grains.
This study is the first known work to identify genes controlling wheat reproductive development by using forward genetic screening of mutant populations. The Enlightenment of the research results may help to improve the nutritional and economic value of wheat.
"The genetic variation we identified provides a 15-25% increase in protein content for plants growing in the field. These varieties can also produce additional spikelets, so-called paired spikelets. We have not detected an increase in the yield of additional spikelets, but we hope that the elite varieties planted by farmers may have an increase in yield," Dr. Boden said.
The increase in protein content occurs without reducing yield, so this finding may even provide economic benefits to breeders and growers, not just increasing nutritional value itself. In addition to the important achievements of this work for future wheat breeding, this research itself is also of great value to the scientific community, because it provides an elegant example of new capabilities for wheat research.