Healthier wheat on its way

A new super-healthy wheat, bred by CSIRO through the Food Futures Flagship, looks set to be an important component of new functional foods.

The project recently got extra impetus when CSIRO signed a $12.5 million joint venture agreement with Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients and the Grains Research Development Corporation.

The high-amylose wheat variety was bred using CSIRO-developed RNAi gene silencing techniques. Researchers suppressed the expression of two starch-branching enzymes, resulting in significantly altered starch composition and an increase in the amount of amylose from about 25 to 70 per cent.

Amylose is a form of starch that is more resistant to digestion. High amylose levels mean the new wheat could be used in foods with a low glycaemic index that promote bowel health and lead to a reduction in colorectal cancer risk.

Animal trials have confirmed that there were positive changes in indicators of bowel health in rats fed a diet of the high-amylose wheat when compared to standard wheat, with no change in the growth rate of the rats.

The project team is also working towards a conventionally-bred version of the new wheat, using molecular marker technology to identify the genetic diversity necessary to develop high amylose wheats.

As well as the health benefits, this type of wheat holds great promise as a high-value niche product for the Australian grains industry.

MORE DETAILS