The Effect of Abiotic Stresses on the Protein Composition of Four Hungarian Wheat Varieties.

Marianna Rakszegi,Gyöngyvér Gell,Ferenc Békés,Zsófia Birinyi,Dalma Nagy-Réder

doi:10.3390/plants11010001

Abstract

Global climate change in recent years has resulted in extreme heat and drought events that significantly influence crop production and endanger food security. Such abiotic stress during the growing season has a negative effect on yield as well as on the functional properties of wheat grain protein content and composition. This reduces the value of grain, as these factors significantly reduce end-use quality. In this study, four Hungarian bread wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum ssp. aestivum) with different drought and heat tolerance were examined. Changes in the size- and hydrophobicity-based distribution of the total proteins of the samples have been monitored by SE- and RP-HPLC, respectively, together with parallel investigations of changes in the amounts of the R5 and G12 antibodies related to celiac disease immunoreactive peptides. Significant difference in yield, protein content and composition have been observed in each cultivar, altering the amounts of CD-related gliadin, as well as the protein parameters directly related to techno-functional properties (Glu/Gli ratio, UPP%). The extent of changes largely depended on the timing of the abiotic stress. The severity of the negative effect depended on the growth stage in which abiotic stress occurred.

Highlights

Extreme environmental events in recent years, and the significant increase in global temperatures and climatic variability, drew attention to agricultural crop productivity, quality and plant resistance to extreme environmental conditions and food security.Wheat is a very important crop, which provides raw material for staple food diets
Our study focuses on the comparison of abiotic stress resistance of different bread wheat varieties
It is becoming more frequent that drought stress paired with a high temperature occurs in the Carpathian Basin, so it is not enough to focus on preparing and breeding only against individual stresses

Summary

Introduction

Extreme environmental events in recent years, and the significant increase in global temperatures and climatic variability, drew attention to agricultural crop productivity, quality and plant resistance to extreme environmental conditions and food security.Wheat is a very important crop, which provides raw material for staple food diets. Wheat grain storage proteins represent 70–80% of the protein content, depending on species [1]. They are key players in wheat-related diseases, like the autoimmune reaction of celiac patients and wheat allergy sufferers. Gluten proteins consist of two major fractions: monomeric gliadins and polymeric glutenins [2]; their contribution to dough properties has long been recognized [3]. They form a typical protein profile in modern wheat genotypes, which confers viscosity and elasticity properties to the dough

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