“…Barley (1,3;1,4)-b-D-glucans are beneficial to human health, where they represent soluble dietary fiber and appear to reduce the risks of colorectal cancer, high serum cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease, obesity, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes (Brennan and Cleary, 2005). On the other hand, (1,3;1,4)-b-Dglucans are considered to be antinutritive in feed formulations for monogastric animals and have undesirable effects in cereal processing applications such as malting and brewing (Brennan and Cleary, 2005). The availability of information on the HvCslF gene family, together with the transcriptional profiles presented here, have allowed the identification of target genes for manipulation, depending on whether the objective is to increase or decrease (1,3;1,4)-b-D-glucan levels in grains, or in vegetative tissues.…”