Abstract
Abstract The impact of environment, genetic selection and their interactions on grain yield of durum wheat genotypes has been extensively studied; however, limited information is available for their influence on gluten quality associated with effects on the amount and composition of glutenins, gliadins and celiac disease (CD)-triggering peptides. In this study, a set of six commonly cultivated durum wheat genotypes were assessed in a multi-environment trial of eight site-year combinations in different Italian regions during two consecutive harvest years (2016 and 2017). While high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) were more stable between years, differences in total gluten proteins were mainly due to low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) and gliadins accumulation. After mass separation and quantification, two gliadin proteins – γ-Gli-5 and α-GliA2-6 (41.1 and 33.8 kDa, respectively) – were further studied together with toxic (TP) and immunogenic (IP) celiac disease-triggering peptides obtained via simulated gastrointestinal digestion. While TP accumulation was strongly influenced by the genotypes, IP showed marked variation in the different sites with significant genotype-by-year and genotype-by-site interaction. Specific agrometeorological variables (i.e. growing degree days and aridity index) in different growing phases showed a strong negative correlation with α-GliA2-6 and CD-associated peptides. Statistical analysis revealed that the level of gliadins and TP/IP peptides were uncorrelated with grain protein content and yield. The selection of plant materials with good technological properties but with a low content of CD-triggering peptides should combine with ad hoc environment (e.g. site) selection and management practices reducing crop evapotranspiration in the vegetative phase.
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