Increasing the Versatility of Durum Wheat through Modifications of Protein and Starch Composition and Grain Hardness
Author(s)
Date Issued
2022
Type
article
Volume
11
Issue
11
Journal
Abstract
Although durum wheat (Triticum durum L. ssp. durum Desf.) has traditionally been used to
make a range of food products, its use has been restricted due to the absence of the D-genome glutenin
proteins, the relatively low variability in starch composition, and its very hard grain texture. This
review focuses on the manipulation of the starch and protein composition and modification of the
hardness of durum wheat in order to improve its technological and nutritional value and expand its
utilization for application to a wider number of end products. Starch is composed of amylopectin and
amylose in a 3:1 ratio, and their manipulation has been explored for achieving starch with modified
composition. In particular, silencing of the genes involved in amylose and amylopectin synthesis
has made it possible to isolate durum wheat lines with amylose content varying from 2–3% up
to 75%. This has created opportunities for new products with different properties and enhanced
nutritional value. Durum-made bread has generally inferior quality to bread made from common
wheat. Attempts to introduce the Glu-D1 subunits 1Dx5 + 1Dy10 and 1Dx2 + 1Dy12 produced
stronger dough, but the former produced excessively strong, inelastic doughs, and loaf volume was
either inferior or not affected. In contrast, the 1Dx2 + 1Dy12 sometimes improved bread loaf volume
(LV) depending on the glutenin subunit background of the genotype receiving these genes. Further
breeding and selection are needed to improve the dough extensibility to allow higher LV and better
texture. The versatility of durum wheat has been greatly expanded with the creation of soft-textured
durum via non-GMO introgression means. This soft durum mills like soft hexaploid wheat and
has similar baking properties. The pasta quality is also not diminished by the soft-textured kernels.
The Glu-D1 locus containing the subunits 1Dx2 + 1Dy12 has also been introgressed to create higher
quality soft durum bread.
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Lafiandra et al. 2022 Foods.pdf
Size
753.69 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
58c2e5b0444c3ae9a681f55fcecc2030