Australia
May 8, 2007
 A
new generation of grain-based foods could soon play a major role
in improving public health, according to one of Australia’s
leading biologists, CSIRO’s Dr
Matthew Morell (photo).
In an address today to BIO 07 in
Boston MA, Dr Morell says ongoing research into new high-fibre
barleys, high-amylose wheat varieties and oilseeds which are
rich in omega-3 fatty acids, should soon lead to the production
of cereals and a host of other foods which will help improve
bowel and heart health.
CSIRO’s research into high amylose wheat (HAW) is part of a
$A12.5 million international collaboration with Australia’s
Grains Research and Development Corporation and French
farmer-owned company, Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients.
Building on core technology developed by CSIRO’s Food Futures
National Research Flagship and Biogemma (Limagrain’s biotech
subsidiary), the joint venture recently produced an experimental
wheat variety with an amylose content of 70 per cent.
“Increasing wheat’s resistant starch levels could lead to a
reduction in colorectal cancer risk and improvements in the
control of blood glucose,” Dr Morell says.
CSIRO’s RNAi gene silencing techniques enabled researchers to
define the genetic changes required to generate HAW and will
help the team develop both conventionally-bred and GM wheat
varieties.
Dr Morell’s team is also working on a new barley cultivar called
BARLEYmax™ – a hull-less variety with 25 per cent of total
dietary fibre, plus resistant starch, which has an appealing
taste and features properties very favourable to food
formulation.
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“Increasing
wheat’s resistant starch levels could lead to a
reduction in colorectal cancer risk and improvements in
the control of blood glucose,” Dr Morell says. |
“Another CSIRO Food Futures’
gene-technology research project led to the potential
development of land crops with the capacity to produce the same
omega-3 fatty acids previously only available to people who eat
ocean fish.
“In 2005 a team led by CSIRO’s Dr Surinder Singh developed the
world’s first plants that produce DHA and EPA in their seeds –
these are the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish,” Dr
Morell says.
“That groundbreaking achievement sourced genes from a number of
organisms including marine algae – a combination that allowed
the team to meet their objective to be the first to demonstrate
that land plants can produce EPA and DHA in their seed oil.”
He says Dr Singh’s team is now making significant progress in
using genes from marine algae to further optimise omega-3
expression in linseed, canola and cotton. |
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