Durum wheat storage protein composition and the role of LMW-GS in quality

Authors: GIRALDO, PATRICIA - Polytechnic University Of Madrid; RUIZ, MAGDALENA - Instituto Nacional De Investigacion Y Tecnologia Agraria Y Alimentaria; LABUSCHAGNE, MARYKE - University Of The Free State; IBBA, MARIA ITRIA - Washington State University; Morris, Craig; ROGERS, JOHN - National University Of Central Buenos Aires Province; IGREJAS, GILBERTO - University Of Tras-Os-montes And Alto Douro

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/5/2019
Publication Date: 4/14/2020
Citation: Giraldo, P., Ruiz, M., Ibba, M.I., Morris, C.F., Labuschagne, M., Igrejas, G. 2020. Durum wheat storage protein composition and the role of LMW-GS in quality. In: Igrejas G., Ikeda T., Guzmán C., editors. Wheat Quality for Improving Processing and Human Health. Springer, Cham. p. 73-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34163-3_5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34163-3_5

Interpretive Summary: The technological quality of durum wheat semolina has always been a central objective in durum wheat breeding programs. However, testing for durum wheat quality is expensive and time consuming. For this reason, in a typically only a limited number of lines are actually phenotyped for end-use quality and mostly at late generations, thus resulting in the possible advancement of lines with unacceptable quality. Among the different factors that influence semolina quality, gluten strength is one of the most important, affecting, among the others, pasta firmness and texture. Gluten strength is determined by both the quantity and quality of prolamins. Prolamin quantity is highly influenced by the environment and cultural (management) practices, has low heritability, and is therefore difficult to breed for. Conversely, prolamin ‘quality’ is determined by the allelic variation of the two major prolamins classes: glutenins and gliadins. For this reason, as an important component associated with the increased knowledge of rheology and end-product quality, several methods for the identification of specific prolamin alleles associated with strong or weak gluten have been developed and exploited for the manipulation of gluten composition. In general, prolamin allelic variation can be detected either on the basis of their relative differences at the protein level (molecular weight, isoelectric point, relative abundance, etc.) or on the basis of differences at the genic level (gene sequence polymorphisms). Following is a summary of the most common methods for the analysis of prolamins allele in durum wheat, emphasizing the advantages and limitations of each method.

Technical Abstract: The technological quality of durum wheat semolina has always been a central objective in durum wheat breeding programs. However, testing for durum wheat quality is expensive and time consuming. For this reason, in a typically only a limited number of lines are actually phenotyped for end-use quality and mostly at late generations, thus resulting in the possible advancement of lines with unacceptable quality. Among the different factors that influence semolina quality, gluten strength is one of the most important, affecting, among the others, pasta firmness and texture. Gluten strength is determined by both the quantity and quality of prolamins. Prolamin quantity is highly influenced by the environment and cultural (management) practices, has low heritability, and is therefore difficult to breed for. Conversely, prolamin ‘quality’ is determined by the allelic variation of the two major prolamins classes: glutenins and gliadins. For this reason, as an important component associated with the increased knowledge of rheology and end-product quality, several methods for the identification of specific prolamin alleles associated with strong or weak gluten have been developed and exploited for the manipulation of gluten composition. In general, prolamin allelic variation can be detected either on the basis of their relative differences at the protein level (molecular weight, isoelectric point, relative abundance, etc.) or on the basis of differences at the genic level (gene sequence polymorphisms). Following is a summary of the most common methods for the analysis of prolamins allele in durum wheat, emphasizing the advantages and limitations of each method.