Barley is an important crop for the production of malt and beer. However, crops such as rice and wheat are rarely used for malting. α-amylase is the key enzyme that degrades starch during malting. In this study, we compared the genomic properties, gene copies, and conserved promoter motifs of α-amylase genes in barley, rice, and wheat. In all three crops, α-amylase consists of four subfamilies ...

The barley Mla locus encodes 28 characterized resistance specificities to the biotrophic fungal pathogen barley powdery mildew. We describe a single-cell transient expression assay using entire cosmid DNAs to pinpoint Mla1 within the complex 240-kb Mla locus. The MLA1 cDNA encodes a 108-kD protein containing an N-terminal coiled-coil structure, a central nucleotide binding domain, and a C-termi...

Moisture adsorption rates for stored grains are important for accurate modeling of drying and storage. Wheat and barley samples at initial moisture contents typical of grain storage were exposed to several levels of higher humidity at two temperatures to measure adsorption rates. The best fit to the data was achieved with the Page equation and the cellular diffusion equations. The adsorption ra...

Endosperm texture has a tremendous impact on the end-use quality of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), a close relative of wheat, also vary measurably in grain hardness. However, in contrast to wheat, little is known about the genetic control of barley grain hardness. Puroindolines are endosperm-specific proteins found in wheat and its relatives. In wheat, p...

I. The effects of processing cereals on aspects of rumen metabolism, physiology and pathology were investigated in five experiments with lambs. Three experiments studied the effects of diets containing loose whole, pelleted whole or pelleted rolled barley on rumen volatile fatty acid ratios, rumen pH and digestibility. In a 4th experiment the effects, on the same measurements, of pelleting whol...

OBJECTIVES We have investigated the extent of contamination with wheat, barley, rye or a mixture of these cereals in a large number of grains and commercial oats. We have also attempted to identify the type of cereal contaminant. METHODS Sandwich R5 ELISA (using either gliadins or hordeins as standards), western blot, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometr...

Sorghum shows strong growth stimulation on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis, while barley and wheat show growth depression. We identified the AM-inducible phosphate transporter genes of these cereals. Their protein products play major roles in phosphate absorption from arbuscules, intracellular fungal structures. Unexpectedly, barley and wheat expressed the AM-inducible genes at high level...