08/09/2023

Press breakfast with leading Omsk SAU scientists

Rector of Omsk State Agrarian University Oksana Viktorovna Shumakova and world-class professors Hamit Koksel (Turkey) and Vladimir Petrovich Shamanin (Omsk SAU) answered the journalists' questions. The event was attended by representatives of such media as the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company "Irtysh", Agrotime journal, and the "Omsk-inform" web-portal.

The meeting began in a world-class grain quality assessment laboratory. The journalists were interested in the laboratory itself, its equipment, the results of its work,and the experience of international cooperation between scientists from Russia and Turkey.

Vladimir Petrovich Shamanin spoke about the work of the International Breeding and Genetics Center, which now includes three laboratories: a wheat breeding laboratory, a genetics laboratory, and the grain quality assessment laboratory. The breeding laboratory of Omsk State Agrarian University is an old department, and university scientists have been creating a unique collection of wheat cultivars for more than a decade. Previously, their work had been aimed at increasing the content of protein and gluten in wheat, but now the priorities have shifted towards developing functional foods and improving the nutritional properties of bread.

Vladimir Petrovich Shamanin:
"Bread should not only nourish, but also bring health benefits. That is why we have created a collection of colored wheat, which is characterized by an increased content of antioxidants, micronutrients (zinc, iron), and anthocyanins. Anthocyanins are not produced in the human body, we get these compounds from fruits and vegetables. But these are seasonal products, whereas consumers eat bread all often. Research on improving wheat is conducted in 60 scientific institutions in 16 countries around the world, and we are among the leaders in this field. China, India, South Korea, and Austria do work in this direction, but they do not have cultivars yet, while our varieties have already been submitted to the state variety testing."
To assess the quality of the resulting breeding material, it was necessary to create a special laboratory. The implementation of this project became possible thanks to a grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The project has been implemented for the third year. The laboratory is headed by a world-class scientist Hamit Koksel, Professor of the Faculty of Nutrition and Dietetics at the Istinye University (Istanbul, Turkey). Its task is to assess the material used for breeding and choose the best variety in terms of crop yield rates, quality and nutritional properties. The Omsk State Agrarian University employs highly qualified breeders, but we didn’t a world-class expert in the field of dietetics. Thus, Hamit Koksel accepted the invitation to come to Omsk SAU and manage this direction of work.

Hamit Koksel:
"We share our experience! Omsk scientists have a large expertise in growing wheat, in particular, colored varieties – blue, black, and purple wheat. And what interests me as a scientist is nutritiology. Therefore, together, we are trying to increase the content of antioxidants and phenolic compounds in wheat. Our goal is to produce food with a higher content of these components, because they are useful for our heart, circulatory system, and other organs. It was very pleasant and comfortable for me to work with Russian scientists. Over the three years of work in this laboratory, I have expanded the horizons of international cooperation, made new acquaintances and friends."