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UBC research bringing flax fibre facts to the fore


A study by researchers at the University of British Columbia has identified the genes responsible for the tough fibres in the stem of the flax plant, a bane of many Canadian flax farmers during harvest.


The findings open up the potential for genetically engineering some of that toughness out and relieving the excessive wear and tear on


Research MARGARET EVANS


farm equipment that costs hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars to deal with. Further research may also provide farmers with more economic opportunities from the flax waste material. “Flax is the only major crop that makes bast fibres in its stem,” says Dr. Michael Deyholos, professor and head of biology at the UBC’s Okanagan campus. “Bast fibres are a special type of cell arranged in bundles just under the stem surface and they are remarkably strong. They are stronger than steel, on the


basis of their weight. Flax bast fibres have been used to make linen textiles for thousands of years. Some flax varieties have been selected because they make lots of oil-rich seeds but all varieties contain at least some bast fibres.


“In North America, we only grow the seed-type varieties so the strong fibres are a nuisance to linseed farmers because they can easily become wound around the axles and rotors of farm


equipment, causing damage including fire due to the friction of the machinery on the bound fibers. In


Europe [where they] grow fibre flax, the bast fibres are graded on things like their length, fineness and colour.” Deyholos and his former graduate student at the University of Alberta dissected thousands of the plants’ stems to identify which genes in the plant’s make-up were responsible for its unique growth.


“We are learning that the process of making a bast fibre is quite different from making a wood fibre,” explains Deyholos. “Even though both are rich in cellulose, the


They may be awfully pretty but they’re tough as nails. UBC research scientists are studying the genes of flax plants to see if there is a way to mitigate the damage their inner tough fibres have on machinery during harvest. (File photo)


cellulose is arranged in a very unique way in the bast fibre, which is what gives it so much strength.


To make this special cellulose, the bast fibre first builds a scaffold that the cellulose is organized on. The whole process requires the precisely timed activity of several hundred genes (but) we really know the functions of maybe only half of these genes.”


Even so, Deyholos says weakening something in plant


genetics is almost always easier than strengthening it, therefore reducing the strength of the fibres will be a relatively easy challenge. “We have already proven that if we get rid of just one of the genes that makes the scaffold, we can reduce the strength of the fibres. We are now working on finding a few non-GMO variants with weaker fibres that we can test in the field.”


While they cannot eliminate the fibre completely, they


believe they can reduce their strength to a degree to make the plant easier for farmers to manage.


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“We will make a variety that has, say, a 15% strength reduction, another that has 30% reduction, and another than has 50% reduction and give them all to breeders to test which one works best.” According to the Flax Council of Canada, Canada is among the largest flax producers in the world. The blue-flowered plant crop grows on the prairies and Canada’s brown flax seed, with its omega-3 fatty acid, is a consumer favourite. According to StatsCan, in 2014/2015, Canada produced 816,000 tonnes of the plant and exported 633,000 tonnes of flaxseed, 56% of which went to China and 23% to Europe. “The flax we grow is of the linseed-type [which] does have bast fibre but not as much and not as high quality as the fibre- type flax grown in Europe,” says Deyholos. “[In addition], we don't have the facilities or climate to harvest flax fibres in the way it has been done traditionally. Because of this, there isn't a market for the Canadian linseed straw. There was a small market for some of the straw in making cigarette papers, but I think this market has dried up.”


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Deyholos believes, however, that through some genetic modification and possibly new machinery, linseed flax fibre can be used as a replacement for glass in fibreglass-like composite materials. Fibreglass is made from glass fibres embedded in a synthetic resin and the fibres provide strength to the


See “LESS” page 21


Country Life in BC • October 2016


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