•  
  •  
 

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

sequence tags, Chenopodium quinoa, quinoa seed

College

Life Sciences

Department

Plant and Wildlife Sciences

Abstract

Quinoa (Chenopoduim quinoa) is a pseudograin cultivated in the Altiplano region of Bolivia and other areas of South America, where it is well adapted to harsh local conditions including high elevation, drought, frost, and saline soils. In addition to its environmental adaptations, quinoa is unique among crops in its exceptional nutritional quality. Quinoa seeds not only have high protein content, but the amino acid composition of these proteins is nutritionally complete, including all of the essential amino acids for human dietary requirements (The Quinoa Project at Brigham Young University: A five-year proposal, unpublished). However, since quinoa use and cultivation is culturally localized to Andean South America, it has not had the advantage of extensive breeding programs to improve yields. While it is an important to crop to Bolivian subsistence farmers, and their principal source of protein, current yields are insufficient to provide them food year round, and protein deficiency is a serious problem in Bolivia (The Quinoa Project at Brigham Young University: A five-year proposal, unpublished).

Download

Share

COinS