Characterization of β-amylase alleles in 79 barley varieties with Pyrosequencing

beta-Amylase is involved in the starch degradation process and therefore influences grain quality. Starch degradation efficiency is dependent on the enzyme thermostability during malting and mashing. Four alleles resulting in different enzyme thermostability are known. These alleles are distinguished by coding single nucleotide polymorphism (cSNP). Pyrosequencing was used for cSNP genotyping of beta-amylase alleles in 79 spring barley varieties by using analyser PSQ MA96 System (Pyrosequencing, Biotage). A new cSNP was revealed by means of Pyrosequencing analysis of sequence flanking cSNp(698), thus recognizing a fifth beta-amylase allele. Pyrosequencing is a high-throughput, fast, and precise system for barley SNP genotyping.