Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

About: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is a facility organization based out in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Soil water. The organization has 10921 authors who have published 21332 publications receiving 748193 citations. The organization is also known as: Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food.

Recent applications of debranning of wheat before milling

Abstract: Wheat debranning, a process in which the bran layers of wheat are removed sequentially by friction and abrasion operations in modified rice polishers, has enormous potential in wheat processing. In the case of durum wheat, the yield and degree of refinement of the semolina produced following debranning are significantly improved. There is conflicting evidence about the ability of debranning to improve the yield and refinement of common wheat flour; however, regardless of wheat class, a major advantage of debranning before milling is lower capital investment because simplification of the mill flow allows more compact plants for a given capacity. The by-products of debranning hold great promise as novel food ingredients with physicochemical and nutritional properties that differ from those of previously available wheat products.

Polyploid Evolution of the Brassicaceae during the Cenozoic Era

Abstract: The Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family, owing to its remarkable species, genetic, and physiological diversity as well as its significant economic potential, has become a model for polyploidy and evolutionary studies. Utilizing extensive transcriptome pyrosequencing of diverse taxa, we established a resolved phylogeny of a subset of crucifer species. We elucidated the frequency, age, and phylogenetic position of polyploidy and lineage separation events that have marked the evolutionary history of the Brassicaceae. Besides the well-known ancient α (47 million years ago [Mya]) and β (124 Mya) paleopolyploidy events, several species were shown to have undergone a further more recent (∼7 to 12 Mya) round of genome multiplication. We identified eight whole-genome duplications corresponding to at least five independent neo/mesopolyploidy events. Although the Brassicaceae family evolved from other eudicots at the beginning of the Cenozoic era of the Earth (60 Mya), major diversification occurred only during the Neogene period (0 to 23 Mya). Remarkably, the widespread species divergence, major polyploidy, and lineage separation events during Brassicaceae evolution are clustered in time around epoch transitions characterized by prolonged unstable climatic conditions. The synchronized diversification of Brassicaceae species suggests that polyploid events may have conferred higher adaptability and increased tolerance toward the drastically changing global environment, thus facilitating species radiation.