04/24/08 WSU scientist gets grant for wheat and Celiac disease

Washington Ag April 24, 2008 Washington State University researcher Diter von Wettstein has been awarded a four-year, $837,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to further his work on developing wheat varieties safe to eat for people who have Celiac disease. Celiac disease is a genetic digestive disease and autoimmune disorder that is triggered by consumption of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. Currently, the only treatment for people who have Celiac disease is to adopt a gluten-free diet, eliminating all wheat, rye and barley-based foods. Von Wettstein and his team have discovered a fully viable, lysine-rich mutant which lacks gliadin-type proteins in barley, showing the way to make Celiac-safe wheat. Another reminder that May 1st is the final date for northwest nursery growers to renew current policies on 2009 Nursery Multi-Peril Crop Insurance. That is also the final date to obtain the Pilot Nursery Grower's Price endorsement in Washington and Oregon. Jo Lynne Seufer with the regional office of USDA's Risk Management Agency says producers without an existing policy can sign up any time of the year. Seufer: "This May One date is really for those producers who have current policies." I'm Bob Hoff.