Creation of the first ultra‐low gluten barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) for coeliac and gluten‐intolerant populations

Coeliac disease is a well‐defined condition that is estimated to affect approximately 1% of the population worldwide. Noncoeliac gluten sensitivity is a condition that is less well defined, but is estimated to affect up to 10% of the population, and is often self‐diagnosed. At present, the only remedy for both conditions is a lifelong gluten‐free diet. A gluten‐free diet is often expensive, high in fat and low in fibre, which in themselves can lead to adverse health outcomes. Thus, there is an opportunity to use novel plant breeding strategies to develop alternative gluten‐free grains. In this work, we describe the breeding and characterization of a novel ultra‐low gluten (ULG) barley variety in which the hordein (gluten) content was reduced to below 5 ppm. This was achieved using traditional breeding strategies to combine three recessive alleles, which act independently of each other to lower the hordein content in the parental varieties. The grain of the initial variety was shrunken compared to wild‐type barleys. We implemented a breeding strategy to improve the grain size to near wild‐type levels and demonstrated that the grains can be malted and brewed successfully. The ULG barley has the potential to provide novel healthy foods and beverages for those who require a gluten‐free diet.