Effect of the hull fraction on the beta-glucan contents of barley and oat grains.

The hull fraction of barley and oat grains affects the nutritional traits such as beta-glucan (BG) content in whole grains and milling yield of grains. To evaluate the accurate impact of the hull fraction on BG content in various genetic backgrounds and growth conditions, BG contents were analyzed in five hulled barley lines, seven hulled oat lines, and one F2 population derived from a cross of hulled and hulless barley lines. The results demonstrated that genetic backgrounds have significant effects on the BG levels while growth conditions have minimum impact. Genotype dependent variation of the hull fraction effect on BG content transmitted strongly into offspring. The results from this study provide clues for accurate expectations of BG gain in progenies of specific crosses between hulled and hulless genotypes in barley and oat.