Peter R. Shewry - Böcker

ICC Handbook of 21st Century Cereal Science and Technology highlights the importance of cereals, presenting insights into the foundational structure of cereal grains, including potential contamination factors that can negatively impact cereal and grain yield. Focusing on the eight major cereal crops - wheat, maize, rice, barley, sorghum and millets, oats, rye and pseudocereals, this is the only available reference to provide standardized coverage for detailed comparison. Written by a global team of expert editors and contributors, the book provides practical insights into the utilization of cereals, grains and safety assessments.

This International Association for Cereal Science and Technology endorsed volume continues their commitment to international cooperation through the dissemination of knowledge, conducting research and developing standard methods.

Provides standardized insights into cereals, their grains, profiles and uses Includes the 8 most utilized cereals including pseudocereals Promotes understanding of the real-world use options of cereals

This book was originally published in 2002. Elastic proteins occur in a wide range of biological systems where they have evolved to fulfil precise biological roles. The best known include proteins in vertebrate muscles and connective tissues, such as titin, elastin and fibrillin, and spider silks. However, other examples include byssus and abductin from bivalve molluscs, resilin from arthropods and gluten from wheat. Interest in elastomeric proteins has been high for several reasons. Firstly, their biological and medical significance, particularly in human disease. Secondly, the unusual properties of proteins such as spider silks provide opportunities to develop materials. Thirdly, the development of scanning probe microscopy makes it possible to study structures and biomechanical properties of these proteins at the single molecule level. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the various aspects of elastomeric proteins.

This book was originally published in 2002. Elastic proteins occur in a wide range of biological systems where they have evolved to fulfil precise biological roles. The best known include proteins in vertebrate muscles and connective tissues, such as titin, elastin and fibrillin, and spider silks. However, other examples include byssus and abductin from bivalve molluscs, resilin from arthropods and gluten from wheat. Interest in elastomeric proteins has been high for several reasons. Firstly, their biological and medical significance, particularly in human disease. Secondly, the unusual properties of proteins such as spider silks provide opportunities to develop materials. Thirdly, the development of scanning probe microscopy makes it possible to study structures and biomechanical properties of these proteins at the single molecule level. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the various aspects of elastomeric proteins.

Wheat is produced on a greater area, grown over a wider geographic range, and traded internationally as a commodity more than any other arable crop. Wheat alone provides 20% of the calories and protein in the global human diet. Understanding the interactions between wheat production, the environment, and human nutrition is essential for meeting the demands of food security as we approach the middle of the 21st century.Wheat: Environment, Food and Health is written by two leading authorities in the field and offers insights into critical issues such as the sustainability of wheat production, the challenges of both mitigating and adapting to environmental change, and the effects of wheat consumption on human health. Covering a broad range of topics, the authors: Introduce the historical development and utilization of the wheat crop.Describe the factors affecting the quality and acceptability of wheat for different uses.Discuss the soil characteristics that are required for, and changed by, wheat production.Examine the water, temperature, and light requirements of wheat systems.Explore the methods and sustainability of plant breeding and farmer approaches to improving crop yields.Describe the development, structure, and composition of wheat grain.Discuss the contribution and impacts, both positive and negative, of wheat consumption on human health.• Discuss how modern technologies and new approaches are addressing the challenges of maintaining wheat production.Wheat: Environment, Food and Health is an essential resource for researchers and academics in disciplines including agriculture, plant biology, applied biology, botany, food science and nutrition, crop improvement, food security, environmental sustainability, and human health.

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Understanding the physical and genetic structure of cereal genomes and how defined coding and non-coding regions interact with the environment to determine a phenotype are key to the future of plant breeding and agriculture. The production and characteri- tion of transgenic plants is a powerful reverse genetic strategy increasingly used in cereals research to ascribe function to defined DNA sequences. However, the techniques and resources required to conduct these investigations have, until recently, been difficult to achieve or totally lacking in wheat, barley and oat. This book brings together the l- est protocols for the transformation, regeneration and selection using both biolistic and Agrobacterium tumefaciens appropriate for these three species. It includes two chapters describing in vitro Agrobacterium co-cultivation, one leading to germ line transformation with no need for tissue culture-based regeneration. In addition, it has several chapters dedicated to the manipulation of gene expression and characterisation of the recombinant locus and transgenic plants. Finally, it tackles the issues of GM risk assessment, field trials and substantial equivalence in terms of transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. Although this book is dedicated to the temperate small grain cereals wheat, barley and oats, many of the techniques described could be readily adapted for other cereals or plants generally. We thank all the contributing authors for their timely and informative chapters, the staff of Humana Press, especially John Walker for their guidance, and Helen Jenkins for her proof-reading, word processing and administrative support. v Contents Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . v Contributors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix PART I.

Seeds provide more than half of the world's intake of dietary protein and energy and thus are of immense economic, cultural and nutritional importance. Proteins can account for up to 40% of the dry weight of various types of seeds, thereby making a large contribution to the nutritional quality and processing properties of seeds. It is, therefore, not surprising that seed proteins were among the first plant components to be systematically studied, some 250 years ago, and have been a major focus of research over the past 100 years. The properties and behaviour of seed proteins pervade modem life in numerous ways. For example, legume and cereal proteins are used'in the production of a wide range of meat-free foods; the process of bread-making is dep~ndent on the physical chemical properties of wheat seed proteins; and in developed, as well as developing, countries, nutritional deficiencies among vegetarian diets are avoided through balancing legume and cereal seeds as sources of dietary proteins. Understanding seed proteins, in order to improve their composition and properties and to increase their concentrations, will thus continue to be an important research objective for the future. The present volume represents the culmination of a long-discussed plan of the editors, to bring together the best international authorities in order to compile a definitive monograph on biological, biochemical, molecular and genetic aspects of seed proteins.