Composition and structure of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grain in relation to end uses: Dissertation

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a globally important grain crop. The composition and structure of barley grain is under genotypic and environmental control during grain development, when storage compounds (mainly starch and protein), are accumulated. Grain structure plays a significant role in malting and feed- and food-processing quality of barley. Hordeins, the major storage proteins in barley grains, are centrally located in the endosperm forming a matrix surrounding starch granules, but their role in the structural properties of barley grain is not completely understood. Thus, the main aim of the current study was to demonstrate the role of hordeins in barley grain structure. The dependence of the grain structure on the growth environment, in particular with respect to day-length and sulphur application relevant to northern growing conditions, was studied. The effects of the grain structure on end use properties in milling as well as in hydration and modification during malting were characterized. The longer photoperiod typical to latitudes in Southern Finland resulted in a C hordein fraction, entrapped by aggregated B and D hordeins, being more deeply located in the endosperm of barley cultivar Barke. Thus the impact of the growing environment on hordein deposition during grain filling was observed both at the tissue and subcellular level. However, the mechanism behind the differential accumulation of C hordein remains unclear. The deeper localization of entrapped C hordein was linked to improved hydration of grains during malting in three barley cultivars. Thus, the role of the subaleurone region in barley grain was found to be significant with respect to end use quality. Moreover, the results suggest that the growing environment affects the end-use properties of barley and that especially the northern growing conditions have a positive impact on barley processing quality. The influence of sulphur application on hordein composition in the Northern European growing conditions was demonstrated for the first time. Asparagine and C hordein served as nitrogen storage pools when the S application rate was lower than 20 mg S / kg soil, whereas total hordein and B hordein contents increased with higher S application rates. The current study also showed that even when sulphur is sufficiently available in field conditions, the hordein composition may react to sulphur application. The observed sulphur responses were in accordance with those reported earlier for hordein composition. This indicates that the more intensive growth rhythm induced in northern growing conditions does not alter greatly the effect of sulphur on grain composition. The current study confirmed that the main grain components: starch, protein and - glucan, influence grain processing properties including milling, hydration and endosperm modification. However, their influence on endosperm texture (hardness or steeliness), which also affects the performance of barley grains in these processes, cannot be directly derived or estimated on the basis of the grain composition. The results obtained suggest that hordeins should also be taken into account in the evaluation of the processing behaviour of barley grains.