Fructan in winter wheat, triticale, and fall rye cultivars of varying cold hardiness

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Abstract
Eight winter wheat [Triticum aestivum], one triticale, [Triticosecale] and three fall rye [Secale cereale] cultivars with mean lethal temperature (LT50) values from -5.5 to -20..degree. C were harvested in late November and analyzed for fructans. Fructose, sucrose, and oligofructans with a degree of polymerization (DP) of 6 or lower were found in all cultivars. The concentration of DP 4 fructan was higher than that of DP 5 in winter wheat and triticale, while the opposite trend was found in fall rye. Fructans with a DP of 7 or higher (high DP fructans) were found at high concentrations in hardy winter wheat and fall rye. The high DP fructan was very low or negligible in the least hardy winter wheat cultivar ''Super X''. Fructans in winter cereals consisted mainly of inulin type with a .beta.-2-1 linkage. The activity of phlein sucrase, which catalyzes synthesis of phlein, was much lower in winter cereals computed with phlein-rich grasses. It was concluded that high DP fructans of inulin type in basal top tissues of winter cereals were more closely associated with freezing resistance than low DP fructans.

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