Madison is a Ph.D. student that started Autumn 2022. Madison is the recipient of multiple fellowships including a USDA NIFA National Needs Graduate Fellowship, an OSU University Fellowship, and an OSU College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Fellowship.
Madison’s project addresses nutritional aspects of barley and malt. One objective is to develop winter barleys having gluten levels below the threshold limit considered safe for persons with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. The strategy for accomplishing this objective involves combining multiple genes that individually reduce gluten levels, into a single winter barley background. The strategy is similar to that used to develop ultra-low spring malting barley varieties.
Another aspect is to develop a greater understanding of genetic control over Free Amino Acid (FAN) production in malt. FAN is the nitrogenous portion of wort that is readily assimilated by yeast and plays a critical role in yeast performance, fermentability, and flavor profile of the beer. Levels of FAN are also critical because inadequate FAN leads to fermentations that fail to go to completion and the production of off-flavors by the yeast, while excessive FAN levels preclude the beer to microbiological instability, reduced shelf life, and production of undesirable off-flavors of another type by the yeast. In terms of brewing styles, brewers practicing adjunct brewing and high gravity brewing require barley varieties that yield very high FAN levels while brewers practicing all-malt brewing are better served by barley varieties that yield FAN levels that are not too high, but also that are not too low.
To get at the genetic basis controlling FAN levels, Madison is utilizing multiple populations, including the GWAS population generated by Ben Eggers. The rationale for carrying out these studies is to provide a means to gain greater predictability of FAN levels in the breeding program, which will enable us to better tailor varietal development for adjunct brewers and all-malt brewers.