Closed

LMA Project A – Improved Phenotyping for Late Maturity Alpha-Amylase (LMA) Susceptibility in Wheat

Tender ID: 391262


Tender Details

Tender #:
PROC-9176016  
Status:
Closed
Publish Date:
1 August 2019
Closing Date:
12 September 2019

Tender Description

⁠⁠⁠Falling number (FN) is a global industry standard used to quantify detrimental pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) in wheat, as early release from seed dormancy leads to significant effects on end product quality. However, a low Falling Number can also be caused by the trait of Late Maturity alpha-Amylase (LMA), with some wheats having a genetic predisposition to accumulate low levels of starch digesting enzymes during grain filling in the absence of sprouting. LMA susceptibility is currently a classification criterion for milling wheat in Australia.

Due to the cost involved in the current LMA susceptibility screen, it is currently employed at a late phase in the breeding pathway of Australian wheat breeding programs, which significantly restricts genetic gains for yield and other traits in Australian wheat varieties.
This investment is one of three interrelated investments aimed at managing and eliminating the effect of Late Maturity alpha-Amylase (LMA) in wheat through improved phenotyping and modelling: PROC-9176016 LMA Project A – Improved phenotyping for Late Maturity alpha-Amylase (LMA) susceptibility in wheat; PROC-9176017 LMA Project B – A novel high-throughput, low-cost test to determine cause of starch damage in wheat grain; and LMA Project C – An improved model of Late Maturity alpha-Amylase (LMA) field risk in Australian wheat.

This procurement focusses on the development of an innovative LMA susceptibility screening methodology that has increased throughput, scalability, repeatability and significantly reduced costs in comparison to the current benchmark assay.

It is expected that the successful applicant will propose a multi-disciplinary approach with potential inputs from fields such as phenomics, molecular biology, biometrics, plant physiology, plant breeding and genetics. Innovative solutions may also borrow from other disciplines such as robotics, medical sciences, mathematics and engineering.

The successful applicant will be expected to actively engage with industry stakeholders (Australian wheat breeding companies and Wheat Quality Australia) as well as the successful applicant of ‘LMA Project C – An improved model of Late Maturity alpha-Amylase (LMA) field risk in Australian wheat’.