Location: Corn, Soybean and Wheat Quality Research
Project Number: 5082-43440-001-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jun 11, 2015
End Date: Jun 10, 2020
Objective:
Objective 1: Develop accurate and efficient laboratory methods for end-use quality evaluation of soft winter wheat breeding lines and varieties. Sub-objective 1a: Improve the cake baking test procedure of non-chlorinated flour by identification of ways to increase cake volume. Sub-objective 1b: Determine the feasibility of flour batter and extract viscosities for prediction of the cake baking quality potential of wheat flour.
Objective 2: Establish quality characteristics of soft winter wheat non-conventional and whole grain food products and enable new and/or expanded commercial uses. Sub-objective 2a: Identify the quality traits of eastern soft winter wheat required for making steamed bread. Sub-objective 2b: Determine variation in the characteristics of soft wheat bran among wheat varieties, and identify ways to improve the functional properties of bran for making whole grain soft wheat foods with improved product quality and sensory acceptance. Sub-objective 2c: Develop eastern soft wheats with different complements of waxy alleles.
Objective 3: Identify the biochemical, physical and genetic factors associated with flour yield and endosperm separation from bran during milling. Sub-objective 3a: Determine the variation in bran micro-structural characteristics and remnant endosperm among soft wheat genotypes in relation to flour yield. Sub-objective 3b: Evaluate effect of TaSus2 alleles at QTL on chr. 2B on milling yield and flour quality. Sub-objective 3c: Compare expression of TaSus2-2B transcripts in near-isogenic lines carrying different complements of HapL, HapH and HapG.
Objective 4: Congressionally designated as a direct mission of service, and non-hypothesis driven, the USDA-ARS will identify, evaluate, and screen the intrinsic end-use quality to enhance cultivar development.
Approach:
Sub-Objective 1a: Evaluate the cake baking performance of non-chlorinated flour with heat and/or acid pretreatments. Determine the effects of waxy, cold water swelling and pre-gelatinized starches on the cake baking performance of non-chlorinated flour. Establish an improved cake baking method and validate its effectiveness. Conduct a collaborative study for the established cake baking method with the AACCI Soft Wheat Flour Technical Committee (SWFTC). Sub-Objective 1b: Determine the viscosities of cake batter, simplified batter and aqueous flour extract using various viscosity tests. Determine the relationships between batter and flour extract viscosity, and cake quality attributes. Establish the batter or extract viscosity test as a routine test of flour for cake baking quality. Sub-Objective 2a: Determine the flour characteristics of soft red winter wheat varieties important for making steamed bread. Determine the quality of steamed breads prepared from soft red wheat flours. Determine the influences of protein and starch characteristics on steamed bread quality. Develop a quality profile of soft red wheat flour for making steamed bread. Sub-Objective 2b: Determine the variation in characteristics of bran among soft red winter wheat varieties. Evaluate the quality of whole grain biscuits and pancakes prepared from a blend of wheat flour and bran from different varieties. Identify bran characteristics of soft red wheat affecting whole wheat biscuits and pancakes. Improve functional properties of bran. Sub-objective 2c: Waxy alleles from fully and partial waxy lines will be introgressed into regionally grown, good milling soft red and white winter wheats to produce lines needed for testing the role of high amylopectin flours on the quality of conventional and non-conventional soft wheat products. Sub-objective 3a: Evaluate the starch content of bran as an estimate of remnant endosperm on bran. Determine the residual endosperm content of bran as an indicator of endosperm separation efficiency. Determine arabinoxylan content of residual endosperm of bran. Evaluate the microstructural differences of bran of contrasting remnant endosperm content. Sub-objective 3b: HapH and HapG alleles will be introgressed by three backcrosses to the recurrent parent. Seed will subsequently be increased for field trials. Sub-objective 3c: We will characterize the sequence and expression of TaSus2-2B to determine if there is a correlation between gene structure and/or expression and high flour yield and kernel softness. Goal 4: Annually evaluate over 6,000 soft red and white wheat grain samples for milling and baking quality from about 21 public and private wheat breeding programs in the eastern half of the United States. Wheat grain samples are classified into ‘preliminary’, ‘intermediate’ or ‘advanced’ groups, depending on the stage of breeding generation and the intensity of quality evaluation needs, and evaluated for their end-use quality potential using AACCI Methods and established procedures.
