ITEMS FROM AUSTRALIA
Quality Wheat Cooperative Research Centre
North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Industry-wide membership in the Quality Wheat CRC.
W.G. Rathmell (Managing Director) and the involvement of 140 research workers throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Four major manufacturers of wheat-based products (Arnoft's Biscuits Ltd, Bunge/Defiance Mills Ltd, George Weston Foods Ltd, and Goodman Fielder Ltd) have linked with major research bodies to form the Cooperative Research Centre for Quality Wheat Products and Processes (Quality Wheat CRC Ltd.), which was incorporated as a company in July 1995. The other organizations involved are the Grains Research and Development Corporation, the Australian Wheat Board, NSW Agriculture, Agriculture Western Australia, New Zealand Crop and Food Research, BRI Australia Ltd, CSIRO Plant Industry, and the University of Sydney. A senior representative from each of these organizations sits on the CRC's Board of Directors. Quality Wheat CRC operates within the framework of the Cooperative Research Centres Program with participants cash and in-kind funding for the Centre supplemented by financial assistance from the Australian Government for a period of 7 years.
Specific goals - a 'grower-to-consumer' perspective. By taking a 'grower-to-consumer' perspective, the Quality Wheat CRC aims to achieve a sustainable increase in the contribution of the wheat production, processing, and related service activities to Australia by stimulating commercial innovations and advances in quality wheat products and processes through an integrated program of basic, strategic, and applied research; education; and training in coöperation with other researchers. The CRC can add particular value to the wheat industry's development through its specific objectives to:
Centre outcomes and their value to the wheat industry. Some examples of Centre outcomes and their value to the wheat industry are listed below:
| Outcome | Value to the Wheat Industry |
|---|---|
| Technical market intelligence on wheat specifications for Asian Noodles. | Increased sales of Australian wheat to Asian premium markets; pool price higher. |
| New biscuit wheat varieties for the Northern wheat growing belt. | Reduced wheat transport costs for Australianbiscuit manufacturers and consistent supply of the right qualities. |
| Technology to increase the shelf life of frozen doughs. | New domestic and export markets for Australian wheat products. |
| Software for controlling water absorption and capacity of bread flours milled from different grists. | Reduced ingredient costs and more consistent quality in bread making. |
| Process-control monitoring systems in doughrooms and commercial baking ovens. | More uniform and bakery output quality lower ingredient costs. |
| Rapid, small-scale, and/or simple tests for aspects of grain quality such as variety, rain damage, or dough extensibility. | New premium-attracting or contract-grown wheats for different markets and end uses. |
| Wheat varieties for specialist uses, such as wet milling or extrusion cooking. | Grower premiums, enhanced profitability in processing; new product opportunities for Australian food and ingredient manufacturers. |
| Introduction of fast methods to exploit natural variation in wheat germplasm. | Income from the Australian wheat-breeding business. |
| Growers using knowledge of the link between wheat quality and farming practices. | Australian crop more marketable; bigger incomes for growers. |
| Better trained bakery operatives. | Australian wheat processing industry closer to international profitability levels. |
| Scientists and technologists trained in Australia return to their countries of origin. | More pull for Australian products and technology from overseas markets. |
| Wheat scientists complete tertiary level research and training courses. | Technically sophisticated manpower available for industry. |
As a good illustration of its success in producing outcomes from the science, Quality Wheat CRC Ltd now has an interesting portfolio of Intellectual Property (IP). An IP policy was put in place during the last 12 months in order to identify and manage IP. The portfolio comprises three different biotechnology patents (on genes and methods) that have arisen in CRC-funded research in Sydney University and at CSIRO Plant Industry. We also now have prototypes of an oven probe (BRI Australia) and a rain-damage test-kit (CSIRO Plant Industry). We expect in the next few months to file patents based on these projects and anticipate that they will have significant business value in the long term.
The next 12 months. Based on the work of the last 12 months and before, we can look forward with optimism to a continued flow of outcomes from the Centre. Specifically, we expect to file patents on unique genes for speciality wheats and to apply for Plant Breeders Rights on adapted speciality varieties and on soft biscuit wheats during 1998. We expect to make substantial progress identifying and adapting germplasm with new commercially important characteristics such as sprout tolerance and milling yield. A crucial element in the strategy for this program is the close integration of the work of breeders, biochemists, chemists, and marker scientists towards specific quality objectives. We have established programs concerned with starch (physical and chemical), a-amylase expression, pigment and oxidative enzyme content, and storage protein quality and content. In terms of grower benefits, these programs will mean better quality wheats for specific products, such as noodles and biscuits, reduced risk of rain damage, and perhaps the opportunity to grow premium-attracting wheats for specialist purposes.
We also will stimulate modifications to wheat storage practices, test market a prototype rain-damage kit, and produce new targeted training courses for growers during 1998. We expect to see the commercialization of the oven probe and the availability of diagnostic services to reduce costs in Partners' bakeries. We will be generating new methods for controlling water absorption in bakers' flours (thereby reducing ingredient costs), and further improvements in mills' QA procedures will result from CRC science.
We expect to have detailed knowledge permitting evaluation of different starch qualities in baking and other processes for which wheat is used. We also expect to have protocols enabling much faster shelf-life evaluation of new frozen product recipes. A second year's data will consolidate the excellent project conclusions on the suitability of different wheats for various noodle products. In addition, the pasta 'bench marking' study of the last year will be made available to participants. The new study of wheat quality for extruded products that was planned last year should point to possibilities for ingredient cost-saving in the manufacture of this type of product. New ways to use flexibly wheat and flours that fall below bread-making standard will be found.
Linking growers, industry, and consumers. The long-heralded impact of biotechnology in agriculture and food manufacture is now providing user-friendly tools for primary and secondary producers in the wheat industry to maximize quality in the choice and blend of wheats for particular end uses. Australia is able to provide leadership in wheat owing to the high quality of its research and of its crop. Quality Wheat CRC Ltd forms the hub of a network to focus on the needs of growers, industry, and consumers and to provide relevant research for real, innovative outcomes for the Australian wheat industry.
Publications.
Oliver JR. 1997. Flours ain't flours: measurement of the chemistry of flour in Australia's high quality wheats. Food Austr 49(5):200-202.
Rathmell WG. 1996. Quality Wheat Cooperative Research Centre. Chem Austr 63:340.
Sutton KH and Wrigley CW. 1996. Mega molecules of protein in our daily bread. Chem Austr 63:346.
Wrigley CW. 1996. Giant proteins with flour power. Nature 381:739.
Anderson WK, Crosbie GV, and Lambe WJ. 1997. Production practices for wheats suitable for white, salted noodles in Western Australia. Austr J Agric Res 48:49-58.
Phan-Thien N, Safara-Ardi M, and Morales-Patino A. 1997. Oscillatory and simple shear flours of an Australian strong flour dough: a constitutive model. Rheologica Acta 36:38-48.
Zhao XC, Sharp PJ, Crosbie G, Barclay I, Wilson R, Batey IL, and Appels R. 1997. A Single genetic locus with starch granule properties in a cross between wheat cultivars of disparate noodle quality. J Cereal Chem 27:7-13.
PBI Cobbitty and Department of Crop Sciences, Private Bag 11, Camden, NSW, 2570; and Sydney, 2006, Australia.
F. Afshari, H.S. Bariana, J. Bell, L.W. Burgess, G.N. Brown, M. Fordyce, K.S. Gosal, M. Hayden, D.R. Marshall, R.A. McIntosh, S. Meldrum, J.D. Oates, R.F. Park, P.J. Sharp, D. Singh, G.E. Standen, F.L. Stoddard, C.R. Wellings A. Zakeri, and C. Zhao.
Despite drought over eastern Australia, the 1997 harvest was above average at approximately 18 mT.
Rust pathogenicity surveys.
Wheat rusts occurred at very low levels and the only areas of concern were widespread leaf rust (pathotype 104-1, 2, 3, (6), (7), 11) and a limited outbreak of stem rust (pathotypes 34-2 and 34-2, 7) in Western Australia. The stem rust pathotypes constitute no widespread threat. An Lr26-virulent pathotype of leaf rust came from cultivar Triller (Lr26) in southern New South Wales. Areas growing stem rust-susceptible long-season red wheats continue to be closely monitored.
Host resistance studies.
Complementary seedling resistance Lr27 + Lr31 was studied further. We reported earlier that Lr27 was located in chromosome 3B and closely associated with Sr2. Lr31 (earlier located on chromosome 4B) apparently is either linked completely with adult plant resistance gene Lr12 or is, in fact, Lr12 itself. The decision to study this resistance in more detail came from a realization that worldwide, leaf rust isolates virulent for Lr12 were always virulent on seedlings with Lr27 + Lr31 such as Gatcher, Timgalen, and several CIMMYT wheats. A further link in this puzzle was an early report by Rajaram et al. (1971, Euphytica 20:574-585) that Timgalen (syn TR135) carried Lr12; this work was not confirmed until now.
Gene Lr11 appears to be located in chromosome 2D.
A seedling resistance gene in the Australian cultivar Harrier and the English wheats Maris Fundin, Hobbit (together with Lr13), and Norin 10-Brevor 14 was named Lr17b. This gene has many features in common with Lr17a (previously Lr17).
A putatively new gene for stripe rust resistance was identified in a T. vavilovii derivative from Queensland.
Germplasm screening and enhancement.
More than 31,000 lines were screened in seedlings and/or field tests for all Australian wheat breeders. Spring habit club wheats with resistance to all three rusts have been developed and targeted to the more rust-prone northeastern wheat belt to satisfy local requirements for this type of wheat. Rust-susceptible club wheats currently are grown in Western Australia.
Cereal rye and triticale breeding.
A period of study leave by Professor Geiger from the University of Hohenheim has been invaluable to our hybrid rye breeding program, which is supported by Weston Food Laboratories. We aim to produce our first spring topcross hybrid by 2002 and are making use of rapid generation turnover to establish our inbred maintainer lines. Meanwhile, a reduced-height crossbred, CP mix 37, is being considered for release. This line combines high yield with superior lodging resistance and adequate resistance to prevailing rust strains.
A new rye products program, funded by GRDC, has identified several adapted lines of white rye that may be useful in the crispbread industry and provide a source of high fiber for traditional white wheat breads. Amylose levels less than 10 % were identified among our rye materials, and we also have identified rye lines that are either high or low in soluble pentosans. Special emphasis will now be given to identifying self-compatible rye lines with superior baking characteristics.
Two locally bred dual-purpose triticales will be submitted for PBR in 1998. One is a sister line to Maiden and Madonna, with superior grazing potential. The other is a reduced awn cultivar with high grain yield and good disease resistance, including resistance to the Yr9-virulent pathotype of yellow rust. A locally bred spring cultivar is also being considered for release.
The hybrid spring triticale program has strong emphasis on grain quality with respect to bread making. One white-grain triticale, which is almost indistinguishable from prime hard wheat, has been identified, and wheattriticale blends with up to 70 % triticale flour have resulted in mini-loaves of acceptable volume. High levels of heterosis for grain yield were identified in some combinations, and parents with superior general combining ability have been identified.
Doubled haploid production.
The Plant Breeding Institute continues to provide a doubled haploid service for wheat at $5 per DH line. Isolated microspore culture technology developed for wheat currently is being tested on a range of other cereals, as well as legumes.
IA Watson Wheat Research Centre, Narrabri, 2390, NSW Australia.
L. O'Brien, D. Bonnett, F.W. Ellison, D.J. Mares, S.G. Moore, K. Mrva, and S. Shah.
Late maturity alpha-amylase (LMA) in wheat.
K. Mrva.
LMA, a genetic defect that results in high levels of grain amylase at maturity in the absence of sprouting, is widespread throughout Australian breeding programs and includes germplasm derived from cultivars such as Spica, Lerma 50, Inia 66, Veery, and Bezostaya. In addition, the source of the gene in some breeding lines is yet to be established. These cultivars generally respond to cool temperatures during mid-grain development by producing germination-type a-amylase, seemingly from the entire aleurone tissue. A glasshouse-based screening test involving the transfer of plants from a warm environment (20-30 C) to a cool environment (10-20 C) has proved extremely effective in identifying problem genotypes. More recent experiments with detached ears indicate that an even more efficient screening system can be developed.
Preharvest sprouting tolerance.
D. Mares.
Sprouting tolerance or grain dormancy in white-grained wheats such as AUS1408 appears to be controlled by two independent, recessive genes, one expressed in the embryo and the other expressed in the tissues of the maternal seed coat. The dormant phenotype is not expressed until the F3 grain generation (F3 grains on F2 plants). However, segregation for the embryo factor occurs in the F2 grain generation. Grains that are homozygous can be identified by imbibing them in an ABA solution and selecting those (approximately 25 %) that fail to germinate in 5-7 days. The ABA-sensitive grains were germinated in the presence of GA and grown to maturity. Individual lines then were progeny tested to determine the seed coat genotype. Progeny were either all dormant (homozygous for the seed coat gene from the dormant parent), all nondormant (homozygous for the seed coat gene from the nondormant parent), or a mixture (heterozygous). These lines will be used in investigations into the nature of the seed coat factor and to develop molecular markers for the seed coat gene.