Funding to help tackle skinning in barley

A Tayside researcher has been awarded more than £600,000 to tackle the problem of skinning in barley crops.

Dr Sarah McKim – a Dundee University academic based at the James Hutton Institute – is the recipient of a research grant to investigate skinning and develop tools to track it in breeding populations.

“Skinning occurs when the barley grain husk does not completely adhere, or ‘stick’, to the barley grain,” said Dr McKim.

“This is a problem during malting, where barley grain is processed for brewing and distilling, as skinned barley performs badly and cannot be used.

“Skinning also reduces the amount of time that the barley grain can be safely stored.

“While we know that husks stick due to a sticky layer on the grain surface, we know very little about its chemical nature or how it is made.

“However, our preliminary data suggests that changes in the surface wax production are key.”

Together with her colleague Dr Chiara Campoli, Dr McKim will study the waxy surfaces, known as cuticles, on barley grain and look at how these vary in varieties that show different degrees of skinning.

The pair aim to identify the genes responsible for altered wax production associated with skinning and how they vary in different cultivated barley varieties.

The project has full support from the International Barley Hub – an initiative seeking to create an open platform for the translation of barley research into economic, social, environmental and commercial impacts.

Dr Sarah McKim.