AGRE-0052 To Explore and Improve the Industrial use of EC Wheats

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ECLAIR Cluster III - Carbohydrates : Plant Genetics : Protein/Amino Acid : Starch : Vegetable Oil/Fat

SUMMARY

This ECLAIR project, which was completed in March 1995, looked at the properties of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown in Europe (EU) with a view to improving the industrial use of this grain. Three different approaches were taken, each organised as a separate but interdependent subprogramme. These considered:

• Industrial Processes;
• Functional Components and their Interactions and
• Biochemical Genetics and Physiology.

The basic objectives of this group of over 20 participants was precompetitive (ie, not directly related to short term commercial products). The aims were to collect information in order to link process development with processing quality requirements, as well as to stimulate breeding and development of wheats capable of satisfying the present and future demands of European industry whilst at the same time decreasing the degree of overlap between independent research programmes. A degree of synergy between the diverse interests resulted in a Cereal Science Network in Europe and increases in effectivity and strength. In each area significant advances were made, as given in more detail on the reverse of this sheet.

INTRODUCTION

The importance of wheat as an industrial raw material in the EU is increasing, although at present the major industrial process is the separation of the protein component (gluten), with starch and sugar syrups as by-products. However, maize remains the major cereal which is processed, reflecting the greater ease with which it can be fractionated using mechanical processes. The use of wheat could increase either as a result of the development of new processing technology or through breeding of varieties with properties which make them more suitable as raw material for such processing. This project aimed to fill the gaps between the development of new process technology and processing requirements, and thus wheat quality requirements, and as a result stimulate breeding of new varieties of wheat, suited to the future demands of the European industries. It was assumed that improvement in the industrial use of wheat was likely to result from a better knowledge of the various applications of wheat. Hence, each main parameter of processing and its effect on product quality was considered in terms of the functional properties and related to specific wheat constituents and their interactions.

APPROACH

A wide range of advanced methodologies including physical (rheology), chemical (spectroscopy) and biological (monoclonal antibodies) were used to define quality determinants in order to achieve a better understanding of wheat variability in terms of composition and structure as well as its influence on various industrial processes. At the same time, the availability of new (isogenic, aneuploid) genetic stocks and wheat samples produced in highly controlled environments facilitated the identification of improved breeding criteria (for milling quality, bread- or biscuit-making quality, sprouting resistance, adaptation to starch/gluten separation, etc). A number of rapid tests for use in breeding programmes and trade were also developed. This work was organised as three interdependent subprogrammes, each one benefiting from the results of the others.

RESULTS

This large, broad-based project collected an impressive amount of data covering many aspects of wheat use which, reflecting the interests of the consortium, extended to many food uses. Only those aspects of potential interest to the non-food markets are mentioned here.

1. Industrial processes. Better knowledge of the various applications of wheat (including milling, starch/gluten industry and fermentation) was obtained, each main parameter of wheat quality being expressed in terms of functional properties and related to specific constituents and their interactions. This included a comprehensive model for milling quality describing the relative influence of both chemical (potassium content) and morphological (bran friability and kernel width) properties. In the starch/gluten project, a system was developed to separate gluten and starch directly from wholemeal flour. This had not previously been possible.
2. Functional Components and Interactions. Relevant results include purification and characterisation of glutenin subunits and of native gluten subfractions, reconstitution studies with purified components and subsequent rheological studies, as well as NMR characterisation of subunits to establish homologies between starch granule proteins and lipid binding proteins. New ways of characterization of HMW and LMW subunits of glutenin corresponding to specific alleles were improved further using chromosomal substitution lines and null lines. A simple procedure for determination of the number of cysteine residues directly from electrophoretic bands was developed. The effect of HMW and LMW glutenin subunits on glutenin polymer properties and on rheological behaviour of gluten was explored using lines with deletions of various gliadin or glutenin loci. Mobility and rigidity of polypeptide chains was investigated through electron spin resonance of the gluten sub-fractions.
3. Biochemical Genetics and Physiology. These studies resulted in significant results in terms of:
   
   1. potential yield of the top cultivars in several European locations,
   2. quality characteristics,
   3. correlation between quality traits and agronomic factors,
   4. effect of nitrogen fertilization, and
   5. characterization of growth environments.

PARTICIPANTS

Subsection leaders: Processes - TNO (Zeist, The Netherlands); Functional Components and their Interactions - Gist-brocades (Delft, The Netherlands); Biochemical Genetics and Physiology - Instituto Sperimentale per la Cerealicoltura (Milano, Italy).

Partners: AFRC-IACR (Bristol, UK), AFRC-IFR (Norwich, UK), BSN Biscuit (Athis Mons, France), Champagne Céréales (Reims, France), Club des 5 (Paris, France), EERM (Jerez de la Frontera, Spain), ENMP (Elvas, Portugal), FMBRA (Chorleywood, UK), IATA (Valencia, Spain), INRA (Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier, Nantes, France), ISC (S. Angelo Lodigiano, Italy), ITCF (Paris, France), Produttori Sementi (Bologna, Italy), Roquette Frères (Lestrem, France), SME Ricerche (Caserta, Italy), Technical University Berlin (Germany), Università di Padova (Italy), Università di Viterbo (Italy).