The Barometer Online

Issue date: 4/8/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Cory Reed Ryan Harper (left), a junior in botany and plant biology, watches while crop and soil science graduate student Scott Fisk (right) use pipets to extract DNA from ground barley plants. The DNA will be used in efforts to map the genome of the Oregon Wolfe Barley.

The Oregon State's department of crop and soil science is developing new varieties of barley in an attempt to increase crop yields and become more cold-tolerant.

Patrick Hayes, OSU professor for barley breeding, is researching the Oregon Wolfe Barley to "find the fingerprints in the genes of barley."

So far, they have about 3,000 genes mapped out on the "genetic map" of the barley and are continuing to find more.

By genetically modifying the barley, farmers would be able to produce barley that is tolerant to the cold and could escape irrigation issues involving the depletion of water from other sources in the environment. The two types of barley used today are two-row and six-row barley, which have no difference in taste or yield, but are "just a matter of preference," Hayes said.

"You can take it to a specialist in malting and brewing and they won't know," Hayes said.

According to an article in Brewers' Guardian magazine, Hayes contests that the "difference between a six-row and two-row strain could be as simple as substituting one letter of the genetic code.

Malting is the process that "allows the grain to partially germinate, making the seeds resources available to the brewer," said John Palmer, author of the book "How to Brew."

Barley has been known as a source for malting more than anything else and just recently became known as a healthy grain source.

"The FDA has decided to allow makers of barley and barley-containing foods to claim that the grain reduces blood cholesterol and therefore lowers the risk of heart disease," the John Hopkins Health Newsfeed said.

They receive funding from the two private barley branches in the United States, Busch Agricultural Resources, Inc. and Coors. In return for the funding, OSU provides its research and information for both companies.

According to American Malting Barley Association, there are 10 barley breeding programs in the country, which range from California to Minnesota. The west is the primary market of barley for feed and the Midwest is the source of malting barley. Hayes is currently processing his OR76 variety to AMBA.

"I send things all the time. I light candles and pray … so far we've gotten close, but so far have not had a variety approved," Hayes said.



Theo Hendrickson, staff writer

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231

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