Gluten Strength Research Articles

Physicochemical and rheological properties of the derivatives of Ningmai 9 wheat and their relationship with sugar-snap cookie diameter

In recent years, the annual demand for soft wheat in China has exceeded six million metric tons. The development of soft wheat is an important objective in the Yangtze River Basin winter wheat region in China. Ningmai 9 is a soft wheat cultivar widely used as a parent in the soft red winter wheat breeding program. However, the physicochemical and rheological properties of Ningmai 9 and its derivatives remain unknown. In this study, Ningmai 9 and its thirty-one derivatives were grown in Nanjing in Jiangsu Province in two successive cropping seasons from 2015 to 2017. The kernel samples were analyzed for milling quality, solvent retention capacity (SRC), alveograph parameters, and sugar-snap cookie diameter. The flour protein content was not significantly associated with any other quality trait. P, L, P/L (the ratio of tenacity to extensibility), alveograph deformation work (W), and four types of SRC were significantly correlated with sugar-snap cookie diameter. Compared to Ningmai 9, seven wheat genotypes had relatively better cookie quality and lower SRC and P values. A multiple regression model with water SRC (WSRC) as a variable explained 72.5% of the total variation in cookie diameter. These results suggest that decreasing SRC and gluten strength is the key to improving soft wheat breeding programs.

Diverse Wheat-Alien Introgression Lines as a Basis for Durable Resistance and Quality Characteristics in Bread Wheat.

Wheat productivity has been significantly improved worldwide through the incorporation of novel genes from various gene pools, not least from wild relatives of wheat, into the commonly cultivated bread and durum wheat. Here, we present and summarize results obtained from a diverse set of wheat-alien introgression lines with mainly introgressions of rye, but also of Leymus spp. and Thinopyrum junceiforme into bread-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). From this material, lines carrying 2RL were found with good agronomic performance and multiple resistance not least towards several races of powdery mildew. A novel resistance gene, one of few showing resistance towards all today identified stem rust races, designated Sr59, was also found originating from 2RL. Lines with multiple introgressions from 4R, 5R, and 6R were found resistant towards the majority of the stripe rust races known today. Due to lack of agricultural adaptation in these lines, transfer of useful genes into more adapted wheat material is a necessity, work which is also in progress through crosses with the CSph1b mutant, to be able to only transfer small chromosome segments that carry the target gene. Furthermore, resistance towards Russian wheat aphid was found in lines having a substitution of 1R (1D) and translocations of 3DL.3RS and 5AL.5RS. The rye chromosomes 1R, 2R, and 6R were found responsible for resistance towards the Syrian Hessian fly. High levels of especially zinc was found in several lines obtained from crosses with Leymus racemosus and Leymus mollis, while also some lines with 1R, 2R, or 5R showed increased levels of minerals and in particular of iron and zinc. Moreover, lines with 1R, 2R, 3R, and Leymus spp. introgressions were also found to have a combination of high iron and zinc and low cadmium concentrations. High variation was found both in grain protein concentration and gluten strength, measured as %UPP, within the lines, indicating large variation in bread-making quality. Thus, our study emphasizes the impact that wheat-alien introgression lines can contribute to current wheat lines and shows large opportunities both to improve production, resistance, and quality. To obtain such improvements, novel plant breeding tools, as discussed in this paper, opens unique opportunities, to transfer suitable genes into the modern and adapted wheat cultivars.

GlutoPeak parameters of whole wheat flours for gluten quality evaluation in soft wheat breeding programs

In soft wheat breeding programs, the gluten strength of flours from specific genotypes is determined by various chemical and rheological tests. Based on such tests, the experimental wheat lines with very weak flour gluten are typically selected for the production of soft-dough biscuits, while the lines with medium gluten strength and extensibility are reserved for hard-dough biscuits. Often, the genotypes having high gluten strength are removed from such breeding programs. In the present study, the usability of the GlutoPeak tester on whole wheat flour samples was investigated for assessing the gluten strength of soft wheat breeding materials. In the study, 25 soft wheat genotypes, grown in seven locations for three years, were categorized by commonly used gluten-quality-related parameters. Based on the results of the study GlutoPeak whole wheat flour PMT values ranging from 30.0 to 50.0 s and AM values from 15.0 to 20.0 GPU were found to be suitable for soft-dough biscuit products, whereas the values between 40.0 and 60.0 s and 20.0 and 23.0 GPU were appropriate for hard-dough biscuit products. The genotypes exhibiting AM values > 24.0 GPU and PMT values > 60.0 s were judged to have too-strong gluten, and thus eliminated from the breeding program. The gluten aggregation energy (AGGEN), and the torque after the maximum torque (PM) values were only useful and applicable to flours for soft-dough products. The maximum torque (BEM) values were not effective in discriminating against the genotypes. The results of this study demonstrated that the GlutoPeak whole wheat PMT and AM parameters can be recommended as quick and accurate parameters especially for early generation screening with small-scale tests in soft wheat improvement programs.

Mapping genomic regions controlling agronomic traits in spring wheat under conventional and organic managements

AbstractIdentification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with important traits is one of the first steps towards deploying marker‐assisted selection, but the lack of stability and consistency in identifying QTL across environments and populations remains a limitation. We conducted this study to identify QTL associated with agronomic traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) across management‐specific environments. A total of 204 wheat lines derived from the ‘Peace’ × ‘Carberry’ cross were evaluated in 2016 and 2017 under conventional and organic managements in Edmonton, Canada, and genotyped with diversity arrays technology markers. Using the least‐squares means for each management system, 53 QTL were identified for nine agronomic traits, 14 of which were consistently identified in both managements. The largest QTL we identified was associated with plant height (QPht.dms‐4B), which might be the plant height‐reducing gene Rht‐B1b from ‘Carberry’. It explained 54 and 49% of the phenotypic variation in conventional and organic management, respectively. The second largest QTL was associated with gluten strength (QSds.dms‐1A) in both managements. We identified consistent QTL across both organic and conventional managements, even though they were generally minor‐effect QTL. Twelve organic management‐specific QTL were found for grain yield, days to heading and maturity, plant height, test weight, and thousand‐kernel weight, but most explained relatively low amount of phenotypic variation. The QTL identified across managements, especially the gluten strength QTL (QSds.dms‐1A), may serve as useful markers in selection. The QSds.dms‐1A region needs to be investigated further to confirm whether it is the Gli‐1 storage protein gene.

Is the Technological Quality of Old Durum Wheat Cultivars Superior to That of Modern Ones When Exposed to Moderately High Temperatures during Grain Filling?

The growing interest in old durum wheat cultivars, due to enhanced consumer attention on healthy, traditional products and low-input agricultural systems, partly relies on their different quality characteristics compared to modern cultivars. Nine Italian durum wheat cultivars from different breeding periods were compared in two late-sown (January) field trials in order to subject their grain filling period to high temperatures similar to those expected in the future. Late sowing moved anthesis forward by about 10 days and increased the mean temperature during grain filling by 1.3 °C compared to that obtained when using the common sowing period of November–December. In these conditions, old cultivars were on average less productive than modern ones (2.36 vs. 3.54 tons ha−1, respectively), had a higher protein percentage (13.8% vs. 11.1%), a lower gluten index (24.3% vs. 56.3%), and a lower alveographic W (baking strength) (64 vs. 100 J 10−4). The differences were partly associated to variations in the gliadins:glutenins ratio. It depended on the genotype whether the grain and semolina protein percentage and gluten strength compensated one another in terms of alveographic indices to give the dough a strength similar to that of the modern cultivars in the range of moderately high temperatures, which resulted from delayed sowing. Further studies aimed at exploring the genetic variability of quality traits in the large genetic pool represented by the several Italian old and intermediate durum wheat cultivars still available are therefore advisable.

Effects of edible plant polyphenols on gluten protein functionality and potential applications of polyphenol-gluten interactions.

Expanding plant-based protein applications is increasingly popular. Polyphenol interactions with wheat gluten proteins can be exploited to create novel functional foods and food ingredients. Polyphenols are antioxidants, thus generally decrease gluten strength by reducing disulfide cross-linking. Monomeric polyphenols can be used to reduce dough mix time and improve flexibility of the gluten network, including to plasticize gluten films. However, high-molecular-weight polyphenols (tannins) cross-link gluten proteins, thereby increasing protein network density and strength. Tannin-gluten interactions can greatly increase gluten tensile strength in dough matrices, as well as batter viscosity and stability. This could be leveraged to reduce detrimental effects of healthful inclusions, like bran and fiber, to loaf breads and other wheat-based products. Further, the dual functions of tannins as an antioxidant and gluten cross-linker could help restructure gluten proteins and improve the texture of plant-based meat alternatives. Tannin-gluten interactions may also be used to reduce inflammatory effects of gluten experienced by those with gluten allergies and celiac disease. Other potential applications of tannin-gluten interactions include formation of food matrices to reduce starch digestibility; creation of novel biomaterials for edible films or medical second skin type bandages; or targeted distribution of micronutrients in the digestive tract. This review focuses on the effects of polyphenols on wheat gluten functionality and discusses emerging opportunities to employ polyphenol-gluten interactions.

Microdochium majus and other fungal pathogens associated with reduced gluten quality in wheat grain

The bread-making quality of wheat depends on the viscoelastic properties of the dough in which gluten proteins play an important role. The quality of gluten proteins is influenced by the genetics of the different wheat varieties and environmental factors. Occasionally, a near complete loss of gluten strength, measured as the maximum resistance towards stretching (Rmax), is observed in grain lots of Norwegian wheat. It is hypothesized that the loss of gluten quality is caused by degradation of gluten proteins by fungal proteases. To identify fungi associated with loss of gluten strength, samples from a selection of wheat grain lots with weak gluten (n = 10, Rmax < 0.3 N) and strong gluten (n = 10, Rmax ≥ 0.6 N) was analyzed for the abundance of fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using DNA metabarcoding of the nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) region ITS1. The DNA quantities for a selection of fungal pathogens of wheat, and the total amount of fungal DNA, were analyzed by quantitative PCR (qPCR). The mean level of total fungal DNA was higher in grain samples with weak gluten compared to grain samples with strong gluten. Heightened quantities of DNA from fungi within the Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) complex, i.e. Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium graminearum, Microdochium majus, and Microdochium nivale, were observed in grain samples with weak gluten compared to those with strong gluten. Microdochium majus was the dominant fungus in the samples with weak gluten. Stepwise regression modeling based on different wheat quality parameters, qPCR data, and the 35 most common OTUs revealed a significant negative association between gluten strength and three OTUs, of which the OTU identified as M. majus was the most abundant. The same analysis also revealed a significant negative relationship between gluten strength and F. avenaceum detected by qPCR, although the DNA levels of this fungus were low compared to those of M. majus. In vitro growth rate studies of a selection of FHB species showed that all the tested isolates were able to grow with gluten as a sole nitrogen source. In addition, proteins secreted by these fungi in liquid cultures were able to hydrolyze gluten substrate proteins in zymograms, confirming their capacity to secrete gluten-degrading proteases. The identification of fungi with potential to influence gluten quality can enable the development of strategies to minimize future problems with gluten strength in food-grade wheat.

AAC Network hard red winter wheat

AAC Network is a semi-dwarf hard red winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar that is well adapted across western Canada and eligible for grades of Canada Western Red Winter (CWRW) wheat. It was developed using wheat × maize pollen doubled haploid methodology. AAC Network was evaluated in the Western Canadian Winter Wheat Cooperative registration trials relative to CDC Buteo, Emerson, Moats, and AAC Elevate for 4 yr (2016–2019). Based on 44 replicated trials, AAC Network produced grain yield similar to AAC Elevate, the highest yielding check, with a protein concentration 0.9 units higher. AAC Network had fair to good winter survival, relatively late maturity, short straw with excellent lodging resistance, and high test weight. AAC Network expressed resistance to stem and stripe rust, moderate resistance to leaf rust and common bunt, and intermediate resistance to Fusarium head blight. In addition to increased grain protein concentration, AAC Network showed improvements in gluten strength and flour water absorption, and it maintained the excellent milling yield and low flour ash attributes of the CWRW wheat class.

Influences of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits and rye translocations on dough-mixing properties and sugar-snap cookie-baking quality of soft winter wheat.

The significance of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GSs) and rye translocations, and their associations with gluten strength for hard wheat used for making bread has been understood well, but remains poorly understood for soft wheat used for making cookies. The influences of HMW-GSs and rye translocations on the dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality of soft wheat were investigated using 50 US eastern soft winter (ESW) wheat varieties possessing 14 predominant HMW-GS profiles. Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 loci only influenced dough-mixing properties significantly, whereas the Glu-D1 locus influenced both dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality significantly. The subunits 1, 7* + 8 and 5 + 10 at the Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 loci, respectively, were associated with a long midline peak time, whereas only the rare subunits 2 + 121 at the Glu-D1 locus exhibited significant associations with improved cookie-baking quality of ESW wheat. The contributions of rye translocations to dough-mixing properties and cookie-baking quality depended on HMW-GS profiles. Three HMW-GS profiles (2*, 7 + 9, 2 + 121 ), (2*, 7 + 8, 2 + 121 ) and (1, 7 + 8, 2 + 121 ) were identified as being desirable for making large-diameter cookies. Flour protein content, lactic acid (LA), and sodium carbonate (SC) solvent retention capacities and softness equivalence were identified as effective predictors of cookie diameter and accounted for 79% of the variation in cookie diameter. Subunits 2 + 121 have significant associations with the protein characteristics and cookie-baking quality of soft wheat. The determination of HMW-GS composition would be an effective tool in soft-wheat breeding programs for quickly identifying and selecting acceptable breeding lines possessing desirable cookie-baking potential. Published 2020. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Genetic responses in milling, flour quality, and wheat sensitivity traits to grain yield improvement in U.S. hard winter wheat

A rising global population necessitates continued genetic improvement of wheat (Triticum spp.), but not without monitoring of unintended consequences to processors and consumers. Our objectives were to re-establish trends of genetic progress in agronomic and milling traits using a generational meter stick as the timeline rather than cultivar release date, and to measure correlated responses in flour quality and human wheat-sensitivity indicators. Grain yield and kernel size showed stepwise increases over cycles, whereas wheat protein content decreased by 1.1 g/100 g. Reduced protein content, however, did not result in lower dough strength pertinent to bread baking. A novel method of directly testing gluten elasticity via the compression-recovery test indicated a general increase in gluten strength, whereas the ratio of total polymeric to total monomeric proteins remained stable. Also showing no change with genetic progress in yield were flour levels of gluten epitopes within the key immunotoxic 33-mer peptide. The oligosaccharide fructan, present in milled and wholemeal flours, increased with increasing grain yield potential. While yield improvement in U.S. bread wheat was not accompanied by a decline in gluten strength or systematic shift in a key wheat sensitivity parameter, the unanticipated rise in total fructans does implicate potentially new dietary concerns.

New Findings in the Amino Acid Profile and Gene Expression in Contrasting Durum Wheat Gluten Strength Genotypes during Grain Filling.

Grain protein composition is important in wheat quality and may influence the amino acidic sequence of bioactive peptides obtained from this feedstock. However, the genetic basis modulating the amino acid profile in durum wheat is not well-understood. Therefore, strong and weak gluten strength durum wheat genotypes were evaluated for their amino acid composition along grain filling. Strong gluten strength lines showed higher expression levels of low-molecular-weight glutenin-related genes between 21 and 35 days post-anthesis (DPA) and exhibited up to 43.5% more alanine than the weak lines at 42 DPA, which was supported by the higher expression levels of putative alanine amino transferase genes in strong genotypes. Therefore, with the involvement of chemistry and molecular biology, the results present here may influence the science of wheat.

High Density Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Conferring Gluten Strength in Canadian Durum Wheat.

Gluten strength is one of the factors that determine the end-use quality of durum wheat and is an important breeding target for this crop. To characterize the quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling gluten strength in Canadian durum wheat cultivars, a population of 162 doubled haploid (DH) lines segregating for gluten strength and derived from cv. Pelissier × cv. Strongfield was used in this study. The DH lines, parents, and controls were grown in 3 years and two seeding dates in each year and gluten strength of grain samples was measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-sedimentation volume (SV). With a genetic map created by genotyping the DH lines using the Illumina Infinium iSelect Wheat 90K SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) chip, QTL contributing to gluten strength were detected on chromosome 1A, 1B, 2B, and 3A. Two major and stable QTL detected on chromosome 1A (QGlu.spa-1A) and 1B (QGlu.spa-1B.1) explaining 13.7–18.7% and 25.4–40.1% of the gluten strength variability respectively were consistently detected over 3 years, with the trait increasing alleles derived from Strongfield. Putative candidate genes underlying the major QTL were identified. Two novel minor QTL (QGlu.spa-3A.1 and QGlu.spa-3A.2) with the trait increasing allele derived from Pelissier were mapped on chromosome 3A explaining up to 8.9% of the phenotypic variance; another three minor QTL (QGlu.spa-2B.1, QGlu.spa-2B.2, and QGlu.spa-2B.3) located on chromosome 2B explained up to 8.7% of the phenotypic variance with the trait increasing allele derived from Pelissier. QGlu.spa-2B.1 is a new QTL and has not been reported in the literature. Multi-environment analysis revealed genetic (QTL) × environment interaction due to the difference of effect in magnitude rather than the direction of the QTL. Eleven pairs of digenic epistatic QTL were identified, with an epistatic effect between the two major QTL of QGlu.spa-1A and QGlu.spa-1B.1 detected in four out of six environments. The peak SNPs and SNPs flanking the QTL interval of QGlu.spa-1A and QGlu.spa-1B.1 were converted to Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) markers, which can be deployed in marker-assisted breeding to increase the efficiency and accuracy of phenotypic selection for gluten strength in durum wheat. The QTL that were expressed consistently across environments are of great importance to maintain the gluten strength of Canadian durum wheat to current market standards during the genetic improvement.

Contributions of individual and combined Glu-B1x and Glu-B1y high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits to semolina functionality and pasta quality

Durum wheat is an important food crop used primarily for pasta production. High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) encoded by the closely linked genes Glu-B1x and Glu-B1y are known for their combined effects on pasta quality, but their individual contributions and interactions remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that individual loss-of-function mutants of Glu-B1x (ΔBx6) and Glu-B1y (ΔBy8) were associated with significant reductions in gluten strength compared to the wildtype, with stronger effects in the ΔBxy double mutant. Reductions in gluten strength were reflected in reduced mixograph and alveograph parameters, gluten index, faster extrusion flow rates and increased cooking loss. Interestingly, the Glu-B1x mutation was also associated with significant increases in grain and semolina protein content, increased pasta firmness, reduced starch viscosity and increased amylose in ΔBx6 and ΔBxy. In general, the ΔBx6 mutation had stronger effects than the ΔBy8 mutation, and significant interactions between the two genes were frequent. In addition to the basic knowledge gained on the individual effects of the Bx6 and By8 subunits and their interactions, the genetic stocks developed in this study provide useful tools to study the effects of natural or synthetic HMW-GS on pasta quality parameters in a background lacking endogenous HMW-GS.

Further interpretation of the underlying causes of the strengthening effect of alkali on gluten and noodle quality: Studies on gluten, gliadin, and glutenin

Alkali significantly enhanced gluten strength and noodle texture. To further understand the underlying mechanisms of the gluten strengthening effect of alkali, the macroscopic rheological properties, microstructure, intermolecular interactions, water mobility, molecular weight distribution (MWD) and structure, and the molecular chain morphology changes of gluten and its subfractions (glutenin and gliadin) were separately investigated. Alkali increased the G′ and G″ of gluten and glutenin fractions. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirmed that alkali induced a more compact structure in all fractions and a membrane-like structure in gluten and glutenin. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) results demonstrated that alkali promoted alkali/protein-protein interactions in gluten and glutenin fractions. Hydrophobic interactions and water-solids interaction were enhanced by alkali in all fractions. Glutenin fraction was shown to play a key role in the protein polymerization of fresh gluten samples in the presence of alkali, while both glutenin and gliadin contributed to the enhanced polymerization during cooking. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed that alkali induced remarkable aggregations of protein molecular chains in gluten system.

Getting to the core of hard red winter wheat quality

AbstractAs the wheat industry works to create more high‐quality food products for consumers, it is necessary for plant breeders to develop new wheat varieties with improved milling and baking characteristics that maximize production efficiency while reducing dependency on vital wheat gluten or other flour additives. The purpose of this study was twofold: (i) to test a popular belief that plant breeding, over time, has gradually produced varieties lacking the necessary characteristics—namely, dough strength—to allow migration from flour additives, and (ii) to perform a specific assessment of gluten compression‐recovery (CORE) analysis as a potential tool for wheat breeding programs to supplement industry‐standard tests such as the farinograph. The farinograph and other recording dough mixers (RDMs) are used to make breeding decisions and are crucial to the success of a breeding program, a farmer's operation, and the milling and baking industries. Through this project, we determined that gluten elasticity, a key metric of CORE analysis, increased at the rate of 1.6% per breeding generation since the introduction of the heirloom variety, Turkey, and thus countering claims that higher yielding varieties lack the gluten strength once present in breeding generations long ago. A second significant finding of this project was that CORE analysis revealed differences in gluten quality among commercial wheat varieties that were more difficult to detect with more traditional, but cumbersome, flour quality tests available through the farinograph, opening up the prospect for wheat researchers to use gluten compression‐recovery analysis as a selection tool in variety development.

Potencijalna primena sorte tritikalea 'Odisej' u proizvodnji čajnog peciva

Triticale, a hybrid cereal developed by crossing of wheat and rye, has certain advantages over wheat, such as higher environmental tolerance and higher content of dietary fiber. The application of triticale flour in food industry is limited by poor rheological properties of dough and low gluten strength. Potential application of hexaploid triticale cultivar 'Odisej' for the production of cookies was assessed in this study. Additionally, the values of basic grain quality parameters for Odisej were determined, such as hectoliter weight, thousand kernel weight, grain size, protein and wet gluten content, gluten index and falling number. Cookies were prepared from refined and wholegrain triticale flour and their physical properties (dimensions, color, hardness) and sensory properties were compared to the cookies prepared from refined and wholegrain wheat and rye flour. Cookies manufactured from refined triticale flour had high spread ratio (diameter/high) value, similar to that of cookies prepared from refined wheat flour. Total sensory score of cookies manufactured from refined triticale flour was the highest among all samples, indicating that it can be successfully used in cookies production.The quality of wholegrain triticale cookies could be improved by the use of milling technique adequate for the production of wholegrain flour.

Discrimination of the quality of Brazilian wheat genotypes and their use as whole-grains in human nutrition

Thirteen wheat genotypes were grown in four regions in Brazil: Cachoeira do Sul (CDS), Santo Augusto (STA), São Gabriel (SAG), and Vacaria (VAC). The principal component analysis explained between 88.3% and 99% of the growing location separation, depending on genotype. Among the 13 genotypes analyzed, TW ranged from 73.75 to 79.83 kg/hL. Final viscosity, gluten strength, extensibility, and falling number exhibited the highest influence on growing region discrimination. STA wheat was selected for the second stage of the study to evaluate the quality of cooked grains. The genotype TBIO Toruk had the longest cooking time of 36.92 min. For most of the studied genotypes, the yellowness reduced after cooking. Damaged grains exhibited values varying from 3.6% to 25.29%. At the end of in vitro digestion, the genotypes were divided into two groups: five genotypes had digestibility in the range of 51.93–58.13%, and eight presented 72.74–84.54% of starch hydrolysis.

Using near-isogenic lines of common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) to determine the relationship between GlutoPeak parameters and quality characteristics

The GlutoPeak is a new instrument used to measure the rheological properties of wheat flour dough. To determine the role of GlutoPeak parameters in assessing wheat quality, near-isogenic lines (NILs) of three wheat varieties with different gluten strengths were used in this study. The availability of GlutoPeak parameters was determined by comparing the consistency of differences in GlutoPeak parameters with the differences in the genetic effects of NILs and the differences in the conventional quality parameters caused by the genetic effects of those NILs. The results showed that only the difference in peak maximum time was identical to the genetic differences and conventional quality parameters within each of these NIL sets. The conventional quality parameters examined were gluten index, Zeleny sedimentation, development time, stability, breakdown time, maximum resistance, extensibility and energy area. Higher gluten strength corresponded to larger peak maximum time. These results provide valuable information concerning the application of the GlutoPeak to the improvement of wheat quality.

Structural, rheological and gelatinization properties of wheat starch granules separated from different noodle-making process

In this study, three typical wheat cultivars (ZM366, AK58, and ZM103) with high, medium, and low gluten strength, respectively, were selected as the raw material. The starch granules separated from different stages of the noodle-making process, including kneading, resting, sheeting, cutting, and drying, were used to explore the structure, dynamic rheology, and quality of the noodles. The D50 (median diameter) of the starch granules decreased during the noodle-making process, and the reduction was enhanced by an increase in the gluten strength of the flour. Between steps 4 and 5 of the noodle-making process, the solubility of ZM103 variety increased from 4.3% to 5.0% at 80 °C, while the peak viscosity decreased from 3626 to 3386 mPa s, which resulted in a decrease in the cooking loss of noodles. Similar trend was observed in the ZM366 and AK58 varieties. The gelatinization enthalpy was reduced, suggesting that the crystalline regions of the starch granules were destroyed during the kneading process. Between steps 4 and 5 of the noodle-making process, the elastic modulus of the starch granules significantly increased, while the temperature at which maximum elastic modulus was decreased, indicating an increase in the crystalline stability of starch during the drying process. Correlation analysis indicated that the changes occurred to the gelatinization property was primarily due to the change in the particle size.

Technological Quality of Dual-purpose Wheat Submitted to Successive Defoliations

Defoliation may interfere in the sink-source relationship and influence grain production and the respective technological quality of wheat flour, particularly in cultivars with potential as forage and in subsequent grain production. This study aimed to determine the effects of plant cutting heights and number of cuttings on the technological wheat flour quality of BRS Umbu and BRS Tarum&amp;atilde; cultivars. A completely randomized design with four repetitions was used and treatments consisted of a combination of cutting heights (20 and 30 cm) and number of cuttings (no cutting, 1, 2 and 3 cuttings), resulting in the following treatments: 20/1, 20/2, 20/3 30/1, 30/2, 30/3 and controls with no cuttings. Hectoliter weight, grain crude protein, tenacity: extensibility ratio, gluten strength, falling number and wet gluten were measured. Regardless of the cutting height used, and after defoliation, the variables exhibited higher values than in non-defoliated plants, with protein content increasing by 6 and 11.3% for the BRS Tarum&amp;atilde; and BRS Umbu cultivars, respectively. As such, it can be inferred that defoliation does not negatively affect the technological quality of wheat flour grown in a dual-purpose system.