Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Aberdeen, Idaho » Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #112855
Title: RAPD PRIMER-GENERATED EMBRYO DNA POLYMORPHISMS AMONG SIXTEEN NORTH AMERICAN MALTING BARLEY CULTIVARS

Author
item Hang, An
item Burton, Charlotte
item Hoffman, David
item Jones, Berne

Submitted to: Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2000
Publication Date: 10/1/2000
Citation: Hang, A., Burton, C.S., Hoffman, D.L., Jones, B.L. 2000. Rapd primer-generated embryo dna polymorphisms among sixteen north american malting barley cultivars. Journal of American Society of Brewing Chemists v.58(4): .p.147-151.

Interpretive Summary: The seeds of many barley varieties are very similar in appearance, making it difficult to tell if a varietal mixture has occurred. Barley variety identification that can be done quickly and accurately is important to the malting and brewing industries. We used DNA extracted from a germ or embryo tissue of five two-rowed and eleven six-rowed malting barley varieties for testing. We found that DNA extracted from a single seed embryo was practical for barley identification purposes. The technique can also be used to check seed purity of a purchased seed lot.

Technical Abstract: Development of a simple, accurate and rapid method for identifying malting barley cultivars is important for the malting and brewing and seed processing industries. Recently reported methods that have been developed for using DNA to 'fingerprint' barley utilize DNA that is extracted from leaf tissue. For this study, we used the PCR-RAPD technique with a selected set of 10-mer primers and DNA that was extracted from mature imbibed embryos. We were able to differentiate sixteen malting barley cultivars or breeding lines that are commonly grown in North America, including the five two-rowed cultivars 'Crystal', 'Garnet', 'Galena', 'Harrington', and 'B1202', and the eleven six-rowed cultivars 'Robust', 'Stander', 'Morex', 'Excel', 'Lacey', 'Foster', 'Drummond', 'Russell', '88Ab536-B', B2601, and B2978'. This method is simple to use and can be accomplished in 12-16 hours, since it bypasses the time-consuming germination and seedling growth steps. PCR results using embryo DNA sample are comparable to those obtained with leaf tissue DNA. The rapid and simple procedure which we have developed can be adapted by industry to maintain cultivar purity and to check the integrity of purchased seed lots.