Improvement of Cereal Seed Proteins

Abstract

Although proteins are minor components of cereal seeds compared with starch (they account on average for about 10% of the dry weight), they have been the subject of a disproportionately large amount of research. This is because their amount and composition determines, to a large extent, the quality of the grain for its final end uses. The major uses of cereals in the developed world are as feed for livestock (barley, maize, and wheat), for breadmaking (wheat), and for other industrial uses such as malting (barley). Although direct consumption of some cereals does occur (e.g., rice, sweet com, pearled barley), this is as part of a mixed diet rich in other sources of protein. Consequently the main quality considerations are nutritional quality for livestock and technological quality. In deve