Abstract
Durum wheat is a staple crop for the Mediterranean diet because of its adaptability to environmental pressure and for its large use in cereal-based food products, such as pasta and bread, as a source of calories and proteins. Durum wheat whole grains are also highly valued for their peculiar amount of dietary fiber and minerals, as well as bioactive compounds of particular interest for their putative health-beneficial properties, including polyphenols, carotenoids, tocopherols, tocotrienols, and phytosterols. In Mediterranean environments, durum wheat is mostly grown under rainfed conditions, where the crop often experiences environmental stresses, especially water deficit and soil salinity that may induce a hyperosmotic stress. In particular, changes in C and N accumulation due to these abiotic conditions, during grain filling, can influence starch and storage protein amount and composition in durum wheat caryopsis, thus influencing yield and quality traits. Recent advancements regarding the influence of water deficit and salinity stress on durum wheat are critically discussed. In particular, a focus on stress-induced changes in (a) grain protein content and composition in relation to technological and health quality; (b) starch and dietary fiber accumulation and composition; (c) phytochemical composition; (d) health-related grain micronutrient accumulation, such as Fe and Zn.
Highlights
Both water deficit and salinity may have a great impact on durum wheat grain quality
There is a general consensus on the increase of protein content under drought associated to a higher concentration of high molecular weight sulfur-poor prolamins, in particular ω-gliadin and HMW glutenin subunits (HMW-GS); the higher protein content has a positive impact on technological quality which is highly dependent on glutenin composition, especially B-type LMW-GS and HMW-GS 7+8/6+8
As for health quality, the possible higher accumulation of S-poor gliadins could lead to an upregulation of Tri a 19 allergen; on the basis of the recent scientific literature on durum wheat, the accumulation of CD-epitope containing proteins seems to be influenced by environment and rainfall
Summary
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum) is a tetraploid (AABB) cereal species mainly cultivated in North America, Mediterranean basin, and Australia. Durum wheat is one of the main sources of carbohydrates and proteins, in the Mediterranean diet, containing dietary fiber and many bioactive components, which are beneficial for human health. External pericarp (bran) mainly contains cellulose, minerals, vitamins, and fiber while germ represents 2–3% of seed; the main fraction is represented by endosperm, which is divided into aleuronic layer (monolayer of cells lost during milling) and amyloid endosperm which represents about 87–89% of the seed. Lipids generally consist on 2-3% of grain chemical com-position and they are mainly present in germ; technological relevance of lipids on flourand dough functionality is due to the ability of stabilizing gas cells in breadmaking by theinteraction with gluten proteins and starch [9]. A particular attention to the interactions between genotype and environment on durum wheat quality in a climate change scenario is paid
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