The Content of Starch and Amylose in the Grain of Mutant Populations of Barley

Abstract

Starch is an integral part of grain of cereal crops (including barley), its content and properties significantly affect the processing and quality of products. One of the methods for increasing the variation in starch and amylose contents in starch is chemical mutagenesis. Chemical mutagens provide the possibility to obtain new allelic variations whose genes are involved in starch biosynthesis. In order to create mutant populations of barley, we used in our study the chemical mutagen phosphemide with solution concentrations of 0.002% and 0.01%. Three mutant generations (M1, M2, M3) were grown from the seeds of two barley samples (Zernogradsky 813, k-30453, Russia, var. Erectum; Dz02-129, k-22934, Ethiopia var. Nigripallidum) from the world collection of the N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Genetic Resources, after treatment with a mutagen in the field, and evaluated by a complex of selection traits. The starch content A and B and amylose content in starch were determined in the grain of the mutant and control populations of the second (M2) and third (M3) generations. 
 The application of mutagen led to a significant decrease in the mass fraction of amylose in the starch of the studied samples in the second (M2) mutant generation. In the third (M3) generation, the inhibitory effect was preserved only in the sample Dz02-129. In the grain of the Zernogradsky 813 cultivar in M3, the starch and amylose contents in starch were above the control. The selection of forms with the elevated content of amylose, which have potential value for the processing industry, is advisable to carry out, starting with M3.