WITH HELP FROM AUSTRALIA, BARLEY ENTERS THE GENOMIC AGE... WHEAT TO FOLLOW

摘要

HIGHER yields, improved pest and disease resistance and enhanced nutritional value are among the potential benefits of an international research effort that has resulted in the mapping of the barley genome. The work - conducted by the International Barley Sequencing Consortium (IBSC), which includes Australian researchers based at the University of Adelaide's Waite Campus - is described in a paper published recently in the prestigious journal Nature. Barley is the world's fourth most important cerealcrop, and the second most important crop in Australian agriculture. Australia produces around seven million tonnes of barley a year, 65 per cent of which is exported at a value of $1.3 billion annually. Australia also accounts for one third of the world's malting barley trade.