| Abstract: | Analytical Methods for Quality Traits in Plant Breeding In plant breeding programs selection for quality traits usually requires two kinds of methods, accurate quantitative methods for precise determination and rapid screening methods for mass selection. The demands on all methods are acceptable sensitivity and precision besides low costs and short times per analysis. In screening programs for fat and protein content NMR and NIR analysis are methods of choice. By own experiences, pyrolysis gaschromatography is a very useful tool for the determination of protein content. Rapid analysis of crude fibre content is still an unsolved problem, although there are many improvements of corresponding laboratory equipment. Paperchromatography is a common rapid method for fatty acid analysis. For quantitative determination gaschromatographic methods are very useful, especially in combination with automatic sample injection techniques. Some unsolved difficulties still exists with the analysis of glucosinolates. Screening-methods are based either on the colour formation of intact GSL molecules with palladium reagent or on the determination of enzymatically released glucose following myrosinase degradation of intact glucosinolates. Hitherto, quantitative determination of glucosinolates is based on gaschromatography as well. Unfortunately, these methods lack in determination of indole glucosinolates, due to their thermal instability. HPLC determination is well suited for the detection of both compounds, simultaneously. This is of great importance, because most of the breeding material low in total glucosinolate content shows remarkably increased indole glucosinolate proportions. For practical purposes, photometrical methods as well as X-ray fluorescence-spectrometry seems to be useful and rapid tools for the determination of total glucosinolate content. |
