Research Project: Enhancement of Hard Spring Wheat, Durum, and Oat Quality

Location: Cereal Crops Research

2018 Annual Report

Objectives
Objective 1: Develop accurate and efficient laboratory methods to evaluate whole wheat milling and bread-making quality of hard spring wheat. Sub-Objectives: 1.A. Develop a whole wheat experimental milling procedure. 1.B. Develop and adapt mixograph techniques for the evaluation of whole wheat flour. 1.C. Identify variation in whole wheat milling and bread-making quality for hard spring wheat genotypes. Objective 2: Identify variation in biochemical components important to end-use quality and functionality, develop prediction models for those components, and evaluate their influence on whole wheat bread-making characteristics of hard spring wheat. Sub-Objectives: 2.A. Identify variation in protein molecular weight distribution (MWD) and its influence on whole wheat bread-making quality, and develop NIR calibration models of protein MWD parameters. 2.B. Identify variation in arabinoxylans and its influence on whole wheat bread-making quality, and develop an NIR prediction model. 2.C. Identify variations in phenolics and antioxidant activity potential in hard spring wheat lines. 2.D. Develop methods to rapidly and accurately predict phenolics and antioxidant activity potential in hard spring wheat using FT-NIR spectroscopy. 2.E. Evaluate the effect of processing on phenolics and antioxidant activity potential during bread-making. Objective 3: Identify and evaluate processing and intrinsic end-use quality traits of experimental lines of hard spring wheat, durum, and oat as part of a Congressionally-designed direct mission of service. - This Objective is EXEMPT from review because, by Legislative (Congressional) mandate, it is a direct mission of service guided and overseen by the Wheat Quality Council. Sub-Objectives: 3.A. Identify and evaluate processing and intrinsic end-use quality traits of experimental hard spring and durum wheat lines. 3.B. Evaluate quality traits of experimental oat lines.

Approach
The Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory will evaluate processing and end-use quality traits of breeders’ experimental lines of wheat relative to physical and biochemical attributes and genetic and environmental influences. This research is important to identify wheat lines that are of superior milling, baking, and processing quality before they are considered for commercial release. Ultimately, the value of this research lies in its potential to enhance international trade of U.S. wheat and reduce competition for overseas markets. Quality evaluation also will be performed for oat lines to increase market value of U.S. oats. Recently, demand for whole-wheat-based foods has been increasing due to well-known beneficial health effects. However, poor end-use quality of whole wheat flour is acknowledged as a problem in the baking industry. Research will be conducted to develop laboratory methods to evaluate whole wheat milling and bread-making quality, and will contribute to the rapid assessment of whole wheat bread-making quality. Research will be conducted to evaluate variation in proteins, arabinoxylans, phenolics, and antioxidant potential in hard spring wheat lines and to develop methods to rapidly predict these components. The role of these components in dough and bread-making properties will also be investigated. This research is important since these components are present in whole grains, mainly in the bran. The benefits of this research will be in the production of wheat germplasm that contains high levels of healthy components, as well as improved end-use quality for the production of whole wheat-based products.

Progress Report
Efforts continued to identify variation in whole wheat milling and bread-making quality traits for hard spring wheat genotypes. The second year samples, which consisted of eleven hard red spring (HRS) wheat varieties grown at 4 locations were milled and analyzed for mixing characteristics using a mixograph. The mixing profile data was modelled to a non-linear equation, and model parameters were obtained from each individual sample. Experimental bread-making will be performed on the second year sample set to investigate the influence of growing environment and genotype on whole wheat bread-making quality characteristics. The information obtained from this research will help to screen and breed HRS wheat varieties to improve whole wheat bread-making quality in HRS wheat breeding programs. This work directly relates to Objective 1. Analysis of variation in protein size distribution and arabinoxylan content, and their association with quality characteristics of hard red spring wheat also continued. Analyses of protein and arabinoxylan are underway on the second year sample set, which consisted of 44 wheat samples which were used for whole wheat quality research. Research is also in progress to calibrate prediction models for wheat quality traits, protein size distribution parameters, and arabinoxylan content using near infrared technology. Near infrared spectra were also collected from the aforementioned 44 wheat samples. The development of near infrared models will help to determine those parameters without using complex and time-consuming analytical procedures. The information obtained from this research will contribute to the improvement of whole wheat bread-making quality and arabinoxylans evaluation by enhancing the speed of quality evaluation in HRS wheat breeding programs, and the milling and bread-making industries. This work directly relates to Objective 2. Investigation of the effect of environment on phenolics and antioxidant activity potential in hard spring wheat continued. Forty genotypes from seven locations in the Northern Great Plains were analyzed for phenolics and antioxidant activity. Data collected showed that location affected phenolic levels. The information gained from this research will help wheat breeders in the region select genotypes with consistently high levels of phenolics and antioxidant activity potential for the production of whole wheat products with potential health benefits. This work directly relates to Objective 2. Method development to rapidly predict phenolics and antioxidant activity potential using FT-NIR spectroscopy is in progress. Wet chemistry analysis for total phenols and antioxidant activity potential have been conducted on 150 samples from Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota. Third year samples have been collected and NIR spectra are currently being collected. The development of NIR calibration curves will be beneficial to wheat breeders to rapidly screen and select genotypes with high levels of phenolics and antioxidant activity potential. This work directly relates to Objective 2. The Hard Red Spring Wheat Quality Laboratory (WQL) analyzed physical and biochemical quality traits on approximately 3600 samples of hard spring and durum wheat and on 25 samples of einkorn and emmer wheat. Samples were submitted by private and public wheat breeders involved in wheat germplasm improvement and by scientists involved in gene mapping to identify quantitative trait loci associated with end-use quality traits. The WQL provided over 40 different tests related to wheat kernel characteristics, milling performance, and flour, semolina, dough, and baking quality. This work directly relates to Objective 3. In cooperation with the Wheat Quality Council (WQC), nine experimental lines of hard spring wheat that were grown at up to 6 locations were evaluated along with the check cultivar Glenn. The WQL tested each line for kernel, milling, flour, dough, and bread-baking quality traits, coordinated the baking quality test results from 13 independent public and private testing laboratories, and analyzed the data. Results were published, presented, and discussed at the annual WQC meeting. Interactions with the WQC serve as a means to obtain industry feedback on the milling and baking quality traits of advanced experimental lines of wheat that are considered for release into commercial production. A 2017 variety survey showed that all of the top five hard spring wheat cultivars planted in North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota were tested by the WQC program. This work directly relates to Objective 3. We evaluated important chemical components such as protein, beta-glucan, and oil content for oat groat samples that were provided by oat breeders. Oat groat samples (183 samples) from the Uniform Oat Performance Nursery were analyzed. Oat groat physical characteristics were obtained using a single kernel characterization system. We also analyzed approximately 1000 samples, which were provided by the North Dakota State University Oat Breeding program for protein, beta-glucan, and oil contents using a near infrared analyzer. This work will aid the release of oat cultivars with improved quality traits (including nutritionally important biochemical components), increase the market value and consumption of U.S. oats, and benefit human health. This work directly relates to Objective 3. The GlutoPeak test can rapidly predict wheat flour quality by measuring gluten forming properties of wheat flour using a small amount of sample, which has usefulness along the entire wheat delivery chain. A study was performed to assess the GlutoPeak test ability to predict dough quality directly from whole grain flour. Results indicated that GlutoPeak may be used to predict flour mixing stability directly from whole grain flour. This information is expected to be very useful for rapid evaluation of wheat quality in a breeding program as well as wheat milling and baking industry. This work directly relates to objective 1. Processing of whole-wheat based products, such as whole-wheat bread, results in poor end-product quality. Bran was postulated as the major problem. In this study, four major bran components including lipids, extractable phenolics, hydrolysable phenolics, and fiber were evaluated for their specific functionality in flour, dough and bread. Hydrolysable phenolics, mainly composed of water-insoluble phenolics, along with fiber, synergistically had negative impacts on gluten and dough quality. Also, fiber and hydrolysable phenolics were the main factors that significantly impacted bread loaf volume. Overall, the influence of bran components on bread-making quality seemed very complex. The result of this study will be a helpful reference for further research to improve whole wheat bread quality. This work directly relates to Objective 2. Thirty hard red spring wheat cultivars released between 1910 and 2013 were investigated to determine the changes in quality characteristics that occurred over release time, and to determine their associations with protein composition. The wheat cultivars showed improvement of mixing characteristics over release time, which could be associated with the measured change in the quantity of protein fractions called glutenin polymeric proteins. This information would be a valuable reference for the evaluation of bread-making quality in hard red spring wheat breeding programs. This work directly relates to Objective 2.

Accomplishments
1. Development of improved wheat germplasm. Wheat producers, milling and baking industries, and overseas customers require high standards in the quality of wheat to meet their evolving needs. The Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory in Fargo, North Dakota contributed wheat end-use quality data that helped lead to the development of improved wheat germplasm and subsequent release of new cultivars of wheat for commercial production. This work contributed to the release of 19 Great Plains-adapted waxy winter wheat germplasms by the USDA-ARS, in cooperation with the University of Nebraska and the release of two hard spring wheat cultivars, in cooperation with the University of Minnesota. These materials are enabling breeders and producers to provide wheat with excellent milling and baking qualities to fulfill consumer demand for high-quality food products.

2. Reducing acrylamide in bread baking. Low free asparagine concentration in wheat is desirable because it forms the carcinogen acrylamide during baking. Among wheat proteins, the protein fractions called polymeric proteins are much larger in size than the other protein fractions. The Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory in Fargo, North Dakota identified critical parameters for polymeric proteins that will be very useful for identifying wheat varieties with low free asparagine concentrations as well as high bread-making quality in hard red spring wheat.

Review Publications
Malegori, C., Grassi, S., Ohm, J., Anderson, J., Marti, A. 2018. GlutoPeak profile analysis for wheat classification: Skipping the refinement process. Journal of Cereal Science. 79:73-79.
Ohm, J., Simsek, S., Mergoum, M. 2018. Variation of protein MWD parameters and their associations with free asparagine concentration and quality characteristics in hard red spring wheat. Journal of Cereal Science. 79:154-159.
Graybosch, R.A., Baenziger, S.P., Bowden, R.L., Dowell, F.E., Dykes, L., Jin, Y., Marshall, D.S., Ohm, J., Caffe-Treml, M. 2017. Release of 19 waxy winter wheat germplasm, with observations on their grain yield stability. Journal of Plant Registrations. 12(1):152-156. https://doi.org/10.3198/jpr2017.03.0018crg.
Khalid, K.H., Ohm, J., Simsek, S. 2017. Whole wheat bread: Effect of bran fractions on dough and end-product quality. Journal of Cereal Science. 78:48-56.
Anderson, J.A., Wiersma, J.J., Linkert, G.L., Reynolds, S., Kolmer, J.A., Jin, Y., Rouse, M.N., Dill-Macky, R., Hareland, G.A., Ohm, J.-B. 2018. Registration of 'Norden' hard red spring wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations. 12(1):90-96. http://doi.org/10.3198/jpr2017.07.0045crc.
Anderson, J.A., Wiersma, J.J., Linkert, G.L., Reynolds, S., Kolmer, J.A., Jin, Y., Rouse, M.N., Dill-Macky, R., Hareland, G.A., Ohm, J.-B. 2018. Registration of 'Bolles' hard red spring wheat with high grain protein concentration and superior baking quality. Journal of Plant Registrations. 12(2):215-221. http://doi.org/10.3198/jpr2017.08.0050crc.
Anderson, J.A., Wiersma, J.J., Linkert, G.L., Reynolds, S., Kolmer, J.A., Jin, Y., Rouse, M.N., Dill-Macky, R., Hareland, G.A., Ohm, J.-B. 2018. Registration of 'Linkert' spring wheat with good straw strength and adult plant resistance to the Ug99 family of stem rust races. Journal of Plant Registrations. 12(2):208-214. http://doi.org/10.3198/jpr2017.07.0046crc.
Malalgoda, M., Ohm, J., Meinhardt, S., Simsek, S. 2018. Association between gluten protein composition and breadmaking quality characteristics in historical and modern spring wheat. Cereal Chemistry. 95:226-238.
Sun, J., Khan, E., Simsek, S., Ohm, J.-B., Simsek, H. 2017. Bioavailability of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in wastewaters from animal feedlots and storage lagoons. Chemosphere. 186:695-701. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.07.153.