In 1988 Larkins left Purdue and came to The University of Arizona, where he served as head of the Department of Plant Sciences from 1988 to 1994. In 1995, he became the first holder of the Porterfield Chair, an endowed position in that department. The funds generated from this endowment support Larkins research program on seed storage proteins. Seed storage proteins are the most abundant protein in the seed, and as such they are the principal determinants of the protein nutritional quality of the seed, Larkins says. Many areas of the world lack the natural and financial resources to grow the variety of crops needed for balanced protein, and thus must rely on grain crops deficient in one or more of the eight amino acids the human body cannot produce.
Most cereal grains are deficient in the essential amino acids lysine and tryptophan.
Children in developing countries are particularly susceptible to such dietary deficiencies. They developed a simple way to estimate the quantity of lysine in corn kernels. This technique can assist plant breeders in developing maize and other cereal grains with a higher content of lysine in the seed. The method will help offset nutritional deficiencies in both human and livestock diets that are based primarily on cereal grains. The development of staple cereals with balanced amino acid content will have an enormous impact on human and livestock nutrition, Leonard says.