The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Scottish farmers to benefit from wheat breakthrough
Identification of genetic code will have major long-term implications
Scottish farmers stand to benefit significantly from the scientific breakthrough which has identified the wheat plant’s genetic code.
As well as paving the way for new varieties that produce higher yields, improved disease resistance, better nutritional quality and plants that are better adapted to climate change, Scottish scientists say the discovery will lead to wheat more attuned to the needs of the whisky industry and northern climatic conditions.
Robbie Waugh, professor of crop genetics at Dundee University and the James Hutton Institute (JHI), said the long-term significance of this week’s announcement was massive. New varieties would have better starch qualities, leading to higher alcohol yield, reduced distilling costs and higher returns for farmers.
Other issues such as poor fertility in some varieties and the architecture of the plant – the length of the straw and grain shape – would also be tackled more effectively as a result of the work.
JHI barley geneticist Dr Bill Thomas agreed that while there is currently no commercial wheat breeding in Scotland, the new data can be used to tailor wheat for grain whisky production.
The research was published in the journal Science, and the work – completed by more than 200 scientists from 73 research institutions in 20 countries – is the result of 13 years of collaborative international research.
Prof Waugh said that while the publication of the work only took place this week, much of the information has already been released into the public domain for the benefit of plant breeders.
He added: “There will be lots of discoveries coming online.”
Wheat is the world’s most widely cultivated crop and a staple of more than a third of the human population.
Other significant plants such as rice and maize have already been sequenced, but the wheat genome is five times larger than the human genome and was long considered to be an impossible task.
There will be lots of discoveries coming online. PROFESSOR ROBBIE WAUGH