China, US scientists develops improvised wheat

Scientists from China and the University of California Berkeley have created an improved variety of wheat that won't sprout prematurely.

Premature sprouting could wipe out an entire crop, and it destroys about 20 percent of all wheat in China annually.

By overcoming this international problem, the scientists expect to dramatically increase wheat yields and reduce the cost of wheat products, the university said. The same procedure could be applied to barley.

The scientists found that reduced production of a central regulatory protein of seeds, thioredoxin h (Trx h), sharply decreased the incidence of premature sprouting, the university said.