Gasparis S. (Ed.) Oat: Methods and Protocols

Springer Science+Business Media LLC, 2017. — 268 p. — (Methods in Molecular Biology 1536) — ISBN: 1493966804Oat is a cereal grain belonging to the genus Avenae which contains more than 20 species occurring at three ploidy levels, diploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid. The primary cultivated oat (Avena sativa L.) is a hexaploid (2n = 6x = 42) consisting of three genomes, AA, CC, and DD. Hexaploid oat is cultivated worldwide in all agricultural regions which have a moderate climate and is used mainly for production of feed and food. With respect to the production quantity, from an economic standpoint oat is significantly less important when compared to main cereals such as rice, maize, wheat, and barley; however, the particular chemical composition of oat grains makes it unique among other cereal species. The most important properties of oat grain are a high level of proteins rich in exogenous amino acids, high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, and finally the presence of beta-glucan, which has been shown to have a positive effect on the prevention of diseases of modern civilization. The favorable nutritional properties of oat make it an interesting object for breeders and scientists, especially with respect to genetic and genomic studies, where the progress compared to other cereals is still not satisfactory. The insufficient progress in these genomic studies is caused not only by its lower economic importance, but the size and complexity of the hexaploid oat genome is a serious constrain for the application of conventional research tools.
From the Contents
Cytological Methods
In Vitro Cultures and Genetic Transformation
Quality Assessment
Genomic Studies
Proteomics Methods