Media release

From: Edith Cowan University

Ground-breaking new research published in Nature has decoded the genome of oats and explained why the popular cereal could be suitable for most people with coeliac disease and gluten intolerance.

The findings will also boost Australia’s already world-leading oat industry by providing new insights into varieties which are more nutritious and more resistant to drought and disease.

Researchers from Edith Cowan University (ECU), Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and WEHI (the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) played a key role in the international collaboration led by Lund University, the ScanOats Industrial Research Center and Helmholtz Munich.

Tracking down the health benefits of oats

Knowing the genome sequence allows researchers to better understand which genes are responsible for which traits.

Professor Michelle Colgrave, from ECU and CSIRO, said researchers were particularly interested in finding out why oat products trigger fewer allergies and intolerances compared to other cereals such as wheat or rye.

“We discovered that oats have fewer of the proteins that correspond to gluten in wheat, causing an immune reaction from people with coeliac disease.

"This allowed us to confirm, on both a gene (DNA) and protein level, that oats contain fewer protein sequences that are known to trigger food allergy and intolerance," she said.

Compared to other cereals, oats also contain a much higher proportion of beta-glucans, which reduce blood cholesterol levels and have a positive effect on people with metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes.

Good news for coeliacs

Associate Professor Jason Tye-Din, from WEHI, said the research provides reassurance about the safety of oats for people with coeliac disease and brings us a step closer to seeing their safe inclusion into gluten free diets.

“Concerns that oats harbour gluten-like proteins that may be harmful for people with coeliac disease has meant that in Australia and New Zealand, oats are currently excluded from the gluten-free diet,” he said.

People eating the highly restrictive gluten-free diet have lower whole grain intake and can suffer higher rates of heart disease. But the inclusion of oats could overcome many of those adverse effects.

“The findings from this study tells us that the genes encoding potentially harmful gluten-like sequences are infrequent, expressed at low level and the sequences themselves less likely to trigger inflammation,” he said.

“These characteristics mean oats bear closer genomic and protein similarities to rice, which is safe in coeliac disease, than wheat and other gluten-rich cereals.”

New potential for breeding

Oats are not only interesting because of their innate health benefits; their cultivation also requires fewer treatments with insecticides, fungicides and fertilisers compared to other cereals.

Thanks to the new insights into the oat genome, breeding and cultivation of more nutritious and sustainable oats can now be accelerated.

“The freely available resources created in this collaboration are essentially the blueprint for oats and will increase the potential of breeding to target specific traits," says Professor Colgrave.

“This could be high protein in grain to address the increasing demand for plant-based sources of protein to meet our growing population.”

Dr Angéla Juhász, from Edith Cowan University, said the findings could be a huge boon for Australia’s oat industry.

“The research conducted by ECU and CSIRO allows us to identify not only the proteins associated with gluten-like traits in oats but also characteristics which can increase crop yield, boost nutritional profiles and make them more resistant to disease and drought,” she said.

“This can provide Australian growers with unique, differentiated grain to maintain Australia's position as a supplier of premium, high-quality grain that delivers specific health benefits to Australians.”

'The mosaic oat genome gives insights into a uniquely healthy cereal crop' was published in Nature.

Notes for Editors:

Oat production in Australia

·       Australia is a world leader in the production of high-quality milling oats for the international market.

·       Australia is regularly the second largest oat exporter, about 10–15 per cent of world trade, behind Canada (75 per cent of world oat trade). Australia is also the 4th largest global ‘oat product’ (processed oats) exporter with a market share of around 10 per cent. There appears to be substantial opportunities to grow this volume.

·       Human consumption of oats is increasing, with 5 per cent annual growth forecasted over the next 5 years.

·       Australia’s tonnage of oats milled annually is also increasing with the 2022 figure expected to eclipse 300,000 tons, up from around 250,000 tons in 2020.

·       China is the fastest growing oat market globally and is an opportunity to grow Australia’s oat exports.

Australian oat quality

·       Australian milling oats are recognised for their high quality, including excellent taste and aroma, and are preferred for their ease of processing, high milling yield and groat percentage.

·       Oats are widely recognised for their nutritional and health benefits. Whole-grain oats are a healthy source of antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins and dietary fibre such as β-glucan, which is important in post-meal glycaemic responses (relevant for diabetes) and preventing cardiovascular disease.

·       Oats do not contain traditional gluten as you find in wheat, rye or barley and are thus considered safe in a gluten-free diet and for people suffering from wheat sensitivities/coeliac disease/wheat allergy.

Growth opportunities

·       Globally, human consumption of oats is increasing. The rate of consumption growth varies substantially between countries. Recent gains in oat food and beverage consumption are expected to continue.

·       We have seen massive growth in the oat milk market in recent years. Around 30 per cent of all barista-made beverages sold in Australia are made with plant-based milk.

·       Australia is following US oat milk explosion:

o   The US is the largest plant-based market in the world.

o   US sales grew from $2 billion in 2018 to $2.5 billion in 2020 (a 22 per cent% increase).

o   Nearly 40 per cent of US households purchased plant-based milk in 2019-2020

o   Oat milk is the second largest segment, growing 219 per cent in 2020.

Oat images are available for use here: Oat images