Variety identification monitoring

The Grain Research Laboratory's Variety Identification Monitoring program supports the integrity of Canada's grain quality assurance system through variety testing.

Evaluating an electrophoretic gel for wheat varieties in a monitoring sample.

Activities

• Monitors Canadian wheat exports (vessel and railcar) and inward deliveries for the presence of wheats of other classes and ineligible varieties that may be visually indistinguishable from designated varieties in a particular class
• Maintains a comprehensive wheat variety protein fingerprint database
• Transfers variety identification technology to the private sector for use in commercial variety identification testing
• Accesses DNA-based testing support through the Variety Identification Research program for barley cargo certification requests and wheat monitoring purposes;

Technology, methods, and standards

• Uses polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis for protein-based variety identification. The use of microsatellite-based systems for DNA fingerprinting is provided by the Variety Identification Research unit.
• Maintains a database of protein-based fingerprints representing about 800 wheat and barley varieties, including registered and historic ones