Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry
Abstract Utilization of grains of local grasses by Australia’s First Nations people for food and connection to Country has largely been lost due to colonization. Native Australian grain production has the potential to deliver environmental, economic, nutritional and cultural benefits to First Nation...
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Oxford University Press (OUP)
2023
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croxfordunivpr:10.1093/aobpla/plad071 2023-12-31T10:06:56+01:00 Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry Abedi, Farkhondeh Keitel, Claudia Khoddami, Ali Marttila, Salla Pattison, Angela L Roberts, Thomas H Buckley, Tom 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plad071 https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/aobpla/plad071/52762573/plad071.pdf https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article-pdf/15/6/plad071/53662870/plad071.pdf en eng Oxford University Press (OUP) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ AoB PLANTS volume 15, issue 6 ISSN 2041-2851 Plant Science journal-article 2023 croxfordunivpr https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plad071 2023-12-06T08:43:58Z Abstract Utilization of grains of local grasses by Australia’s First Nations people for food and connection to Country has largely been lost due to colonization. Native Australian grain production has the potential to deliver environmental, economic, nutritional and cultural benefits to First Nations people and the wider community. Revitalization of the native grain food system can only be achieved if relevant properties of the grains are elucidated. This study aimed to characterize the grain structure and histochemistry of four Australian native grasses: Dactyloctenium radulans (Button Grass), Astrebla lappacea (Curly Mitchell Grass), Panicum decompositum (Native Millet) and Microlaena stipoides (Weeping Grass). For these species, as well as wheat and sorghum, whole-grain images were obtained via stereo microscopy, starch and the embryo were visualized, and sections of fixed grains were imaged via bright-field and fluorescence microscopy. The shape, size and colour of the whole native grains varied between the species. The aleurone layer was one-cell thick in the native species, as in the domesticated grains, except for Weeping Grass, which had a two-cell-thick aleurone. In the native grains, endosperm cell walls appeared thinner than in wheat and sorghum. Starch granules in Button Grass, Curly Mitchell Grass and Native Millet were found mainly in the central region of the starchy endosperm, with very few granules in the sub-aleurone layer, whereas Weeping Grass had abundant starch in the sub-aleurone. Protein appeared most abundant in the aleurone and sub-aleurone layers of the native grains, although in Button Grass, the starchy endosperm was observed to be rich in protein, as in wheat and sorghum. As a proportion of the whole grain, the embryo was larger in the native species than in wheat. The differences found in the grain properties among the four native Australian species have important implications for the agri-food industry in a changing climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper First Nations Oxford University Press (via Crossref) AoB PLANTS 15 6 |
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Oxford University Press (via Crossref) |
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English |
topic |
Plant Science |
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Plant Science Abedi, Farkhondeh Keitel, Claudia Khoddami, Ali Marttila, Salla Pattison, Angela L Roberts, Thomas H Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
topic_facet |
Plant Science |
description |
Abstract Utilization of grains of local grasses by Australia’s First Nations people for food and connection to Country has largely been lost due to colonization. Native Australian grain production has the potential to deliver environmental, economic, nutritional and cultural benefits to First Nations people and the wider community. Revitalization of the native grain food system can only be achieved if relevant properties of the grains are elucidated. This study aimed to characterize the grain structure and histochemistry of four Australian native grasses: Dactyloctenium radulans (Button Grass), Astrebla lappacea (Curly Mitchell Grass), Panicum decompositum (Native Millet) and Microlaena stipoides (Weeping Grass). For these species, as well as wheat and sorghum, whole-grain images were obtained via stereo microscopy, starch and the embryo were visualized, and sections of fixed grains were imaged via bright-field and fluorescence microscopy. The shape, size and colour of the whole native grains varied between the species. The aleurone layer was one-cell thick in the native species, as in the domesticated grains, except for Weeping Grass, which had a two-cell-thick aleurone. In the native grains, endosperm cell walls appeared thinner than in wheat and sorghum. Starch granules in Button Grass, Curly Mitchell Grass and Native Millet were found mainly in the central region of the starchy endosperm, with very few granules in the sub-aleurone layer, whereas Weeping Grass had abundant starch in the sub-aleurone. Protein appeared most abundant in the aleurone and sub-aleurone layers of the native grains, although in Button Grass, the starchy endosperm was observed to be rich in protein, as in wheat and sorghum. As a proportion of the whole grain, the embryo was larger in the native species than in wheat. The differences found in the grain properties among the four native Australian species have important implications for the agri-food industry in a changing climate. |
author2 |
Buckley, Tom |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Abedi, Farkhondeh Keitel, Claudia Khoddami, Ali Marttila, Salla Pattison, Angela L Roberts, Thomas H |
author_facet |
Abedi, Farkhondeh Keitel, Claudia Khoddami, Ali Marttila, Salla Pattison, Angela L Roberts, Thomas H |
author_sort |
Abedi, Farkhondeh |
title |
Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
title_short |
Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
title_full |
Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
title_fullStr |
Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
title_full_unstemmed |
Indigenous Australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
title_sort |
indigenous australian grass seeds as grains: macrostructure, microstructure and histochemistry |
publisher |
Oxford University Press (OUP) |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plad071 https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/aobpla/plad071/52762573/plad071.pdf https://academic.oup.com/aobpla/article-pdf/15/6/plad071/53662870/plad071.pdf |
genre |
First Nations |
genre_facet |
First Nations |
op_source |
AoB PLANTS volume 15, issue 6 ISSN 2041-2851 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/aobpla/plad071 |
container_title |
AoB PLANTS |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
6 |
_version_ |
1786839128295342080 |