The two-row malting barley cultivar 'New Sachiho Golden' with null lipoxygenase-1 improves flavor stability in beer and was developed by marker-assisted selection.

Lipoxygenase-1 (LOX-1) null 'New Sachiho Golden' is a two-row malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar released in 2015 that was developed at the Tochigi Prefectural Agricultural Experimental Station by backcross breeding using the high-yield leading cultivar 'Sachiho Golden' as a recurrent parent and the LOX-1 null mutant 'Daikei LM1' as a non-recurrent parent. To develop 'New Sachiho Golden' we used a simple LOX activity assay and marker-assisted selection. This is the first LOX-1 null malting barley cultivar in Japan that is resistant to barley yellow mosaic virus (types I-III). Agronomic characteristics and malting qualities of 'New Sachiho Golden' were similar to those of 'Sachiho Golden', except that 'New Sachiho Golden' had no LOX activity in ungerminated grains and had clearly lower LOX activity during malting than 'Sachiho Golden'. The concentrations of a trans-2-nonenal (T2N) precursor in wort and beer made from 'New Sachiho Golden' were significantly lower than in those made from 'Sachiho Golden', both before and after storage.

Significance of structural variation in thylakoid membranes in maintaining functional photosystems during reproductive growth.

Structural variation in the stroma-grana (SG) arrangement of the thylakoid membranes, such as changes in the thickness of the grana stacks and in the ratio between grana and inter-grana thylakoid, is often observed. Broadly, such alterations are considered acclimation to changes in growth and the environment. However, the relation of thylakoid morphology to plant growth and photosynthesis remains obscure. Here, we report changes in the thylakoid during leaf development under a fixed light condition. Histological studies on the chloroplasts of fresh green Arabidopsis leaves have shown that characteristically shaped thylakoid membranes lacking the inter-grana region, referred to hereafter as isolated-grana (IG), occurred adjacent to highly ordered, large grana layers. This morphology was restored to conventional SG thylakoid membranes with the removal of bolting stems from reproductive plants. Statistical analysis showed a negative correlation between the incidences of IG-type chloroplasts in mesophyll cells and the rates of leaf growth. Fluorescence parameters calculated from pulse-amplitude modulated fluorometry measurements and CO2 assimilation data showed that the IG thylakoids had a photosynthetic ability that was equivalent to that of the SG thylakoids under moderate light. However, clear differences were observed in the chlorophyll a/b ratio. The IG thylakoids were apparently an acclimated phenotype to the internal condition of source leaves. The idea is supported by the fact that the life span of the IG thylakoids increased significantly in the later developing leaves. In conclusion, the heterogeneous state of thylakoid membranes is likely important in maintaining photosynthesis during the reproductive phase of growth.