In The Future Doughnuts Will Be Good For You

Scientists have unlocked a secret to increase the nutritional value of wheat.

US scientists have identified a gene from wild wheat that could increase protein and micronutrient content of its cultivated cousin by 10 to 15 per cent, and could soon be used in food products with enhanced nutritional value.

“The reintroduction of the functional gene from the wild species into commercial wheat varieties has the potential to increase the nutritional value of a large proportion of our current cultivated wheat varieties," said lead researcher Professor Jorge Dubcovsky from the University of California, Davis.

Now having discovered the value of this gene, scientists could have gone into the lab, waited for a lightening storm and whipped up a brand new variety of Frakenfood. Which the world would have resoundingly rejected.

So they have begun a program to breed new strains of wheat the old fashioned way.

Several breeding programs are reported to have already used the GPC-B1 gene to develop elite breeding lines, which are close to being released as new wheat varieties.

Such varieties are now being tested by breeders in multiple environments to determine if the introduction of GPC-B1 has any negative impacts on factors such as yield and quality, and the researchers hope that these will soon translate into food products with enhanced nutritional value.

And concerns associated with transgenic crops are not valid with the new wheat variety, because: “The resulting varieties are not genetically modified organisms, which will likely speed their commercial adoption,” said a statement from the University of California, Davis.

Same end result, same varieties of wheat. Same enhanced nutritional benefit. One will be welcomed, the other would be shunned.

I'm looking forward to a good high protein Krispy Kreme though.

Posted by: Stephen Macklin at 02:17 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment