Comparison of black, purple, and yellow barleys

Many barley landraces are purple-or black-seeded, but the chemical composition of these purple-and black- seeded barley is rarely examined. Therefore, studies were conducted to determine if the chemical composition of purple and black barleys differs from that of yellow barleys. Four sets of genetic materials were used for these studies: 96 doubled-haploid (DH) lines, 10 near-isogenic lines, 40 landraces, and four F3 bulks. The results showed that purple DH lines contained a similar amount of lignin as yellow DH lines and that anthocyanin-containing isogenic lines did not differ from anthocyanin-free lines in lignin content. Therefore, these results suggest that anthocyanin biosynthesis is independent of lignin biosynthesis in barley. The results also showed that black barley contained more protein and more lignin than yellow barley in two crosses and that among the 40 landraces studied, the three with the highest concentration of lignin happened to be black seeded. Lignin content was not associated with seed weight except in defective endosperm lines. The presence of pigments and a relatively high concentration of lignin might help reduce the level of kernel blight severity in black barley. More studies are needed to determine the chemical composition and pest resistance associated with purple and black barleys.