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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State University's Agricultural Experiment Station has been awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to explore methods to produce higher yielding, higher quality and more disease-resistant barley.

OSU is a cooperating institution on this project, which includes 30 scientists and 19 institutions. OSU's barley breeding program, in the Department of Crop and Soil Science, will receive $554,556 of the total $5 million being awarded by the USDA for the project, according to Jan Auyong, assistant director of OSU's Agricultural Experiment Station.

Research will focus on relating genetic information to important economic and agronomic traits in existing barley breeding lines, explained Pat Hayes, OSU barley breeder and professor of crop science.

"The consortium will work together to develop a detailed genetic 'road map' of barley to identify the genes that control yield, food and malt quality, and disease resistance," said Hayes. "The goal is to develop and use the tools of genomics to develop new barley cultivars."

Using marker-assisted selection technology, Hayes and Jennifer King, an associate professor of crop and soil science, as well as other breeders around the United States will be able to more precisely select the best trait combinations for specific varieties. For example, a plant scientist might mark a combination of genes known to increase disease resistance. Breeders wanting the disease resistance trait will use marker information to identify lines containing that specific combination of genes.

The benefits of the barley research will extend to the general public and make barley breeding more economic and effective, said Hayes. "The research will help create an alternative and healthy source of food and energy by developing a more sustainable supply of barley."

A portion of the USDA money will help educate graduate students and postdoctoral research associates in plant breeding and genetics. Results of the research will be available to scientists, growers and the food industry through the project's public website http://www.barleycap.org.

"This project is exciting because it will allow a national team to develop and apply molecular breeding tools to tap the naturally occurring genetic variation in barley," said Hayes.