The effect of durum wheat genotypes on cooking quality of pasta

Effect of Wheat Varieties and Cultivation Environments on Grain Endophytes, Microbial Communities, and Quality of Medium-High Temperature Daqu in Chinese Baijiu

Wheat grain serves as the primary raw material for producing medium-high temperature (MT)-Daqu, a fermentation starter crucial for Chinese Baijiu production, characterized by spontaneous fermentation without the inoculation of exogenous substances. However, the interactions among wheat varieties, cultivation environments, and the resulting Daqu quality remain poorly understood. This study evaluates three wheat varieties harvested from three distinct cultivation environments, examining wheat grain quality, grain-associated endophytes, and physicochemical properties and microbial communities of MT-Daqu at 0, 9, and 90 days of fermentation. The results revealed the cultivation environment had the most pronounced impact on wheat fungal endophytes. The physicochemical properties of Daqu were primarily impacted by variety, namely, the enzyme activity impacted by environmental factors. Pantoea, Aspergillus, and Stephylium are key microbial genera shared between wheat grains and MT-Daqu. Redundancy analysis highlighted the critical roles of moisture content, starch content, and amino acid nitrogen levels in driving microbial succession in Daqu. Mantel analysis demonstrated significant correlations between the abundance of dominant fungal endophytes in wheat grains and Daqu quality parameters, including starch content (r = 0.45; p < 0.01), saccharifying activity (r = 0.41), liquefying activity (r = 0.31), and esterifying activity (r = 0.30) (p < 0.05). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that Nesterenkonia, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Dioszegia, Golubevia, Udeniomyces and Stemphylium are the dominant wheat-derived bacterial genera associated with the abundance of microorganisms in MT-Daqu. This study elucidated the "cultivation environment-grain endophyte-Daqu microorganism" microbial transmission pathway, providing a theoretical foundation for breeding wheat varieties optimized for Daqu production and identifying suitable production regions.

Simultaneous improvement of grain yield and grain protein concentration in durum wheat by using association tests and weighted GBLUP

KEY MESSAGE

Simultaneous improvement for GY and GPC by using GWAS and GBLUP suggested a significant application in durum wheat breeding. Despite the importance of grain protein concentration (GPC) in determining wheat quality, its negative correlation with grain yield (GY) is still one of the major challenges for breeders. Here, a durum wheat panel of 200 genotypes was evaluated for GY, GPC, and their derived indices (GPD and GYD), under eight different agronomic conditions. The plant material was genotyped with the Illumina 25 k iSelect array, and a genome-wide association study was performed. Two statistical models revealed dozens of marker-trait associations (MTAs), each explaining up to 30%. phenotypic variance. Two markers on chromosomes 2A and 6B were consistently identified by both models and were found to be significantly associated with GY and GPC. MTAs identified for phenological traits co-mapped to well-known genes (i.e., Ppd-1, Vrn-1). The significance values (p-values) that measure the strength of the association of each single nucleotide polymorphism marker with the target traits were used to perform genomic prediction by using a weighted genomic best linear unbiased prediction model. The trained models were ultimately used to predict the agronomic performances of an independent durum wheat panel, confirming the utility of genomic prediction, although environmental conditions and genetic backgrounds may still be a challenge to overcome. The results generated through our study confirmed the utility of GPD and GYD to mitigate the inverse GY and GPC relationship in wheat, provided novel markers for marker-assisted selection and opened new ways to develop cultivars through genomic prediction approaches.

Changes Induced by Heat Moisture Treatment in Wheat Flour and Pasta Rheological, Physical and Starch Digestibility Properties

Wheat is one of the main crops that is cultivated and consumed in the world. Since durum wheat is less abundant and more expensive than other types, pasta producers can use common wheat by applying various techniques to achieve the desired quality. A heat moisture treatment was applied to common wheat flour, and the effects on dough rheology and texture, and pasta cooking quality, color, texture, and resistant starch content were evaluated. The results revealed that heat moisture treatment temperature and moisture content induced a proportional increase in visco-elastic moduli, dough firmness, pasta cooking solids loss, and luminosity, as they were higher compared to the control. The breaking force of uncooked pasta decreased when the flour moisture content increased, while the opposite trend was observed for resistant starch content. The highest resistant starch values were obtained for the samples treated at the lowest temperature (60 °C). Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were obtained between some of the textural and physical characteristics analyzed. The studied samples can be grouped in three clusters characterized by different properties. Heat moisture treatment is a convenient physical modification of starch and flours that can be employed in the pasta industry. These results underline the opportunity to enhance common pasta processing and final product functionality by using a green and non-toxic technique to develop new functional products.

Allelic Variation of Glu-A1 and Glu-B1 Genes in Winter Durum Wheat and Its Effect on Quality Parameters

Winter durum wheat is a relatively young crop that is highly adaptable due to its winter type of growth habit. The priority of breeding and genetic improvement of winter durum wheat is to improve grain quality and pasta quality, largely determined by the glutenin storage proteins. In the present study, a collection of 76 accessions of winter durum wheat from P.P. Lukyanenko National Grain Centre was studied. The allelic state of high-molecular-weight glutenin genes, Glu-A1 and Glu-B1, using PCR markers and SDS-PAGE was identified and grain and pasta quality traits were assessed in a two-year field experiment. The positive effect of the Glu-A1a allele and a negative effect of Glu-A1c on the gluten index were shown. It was found that Glu-B1al and Glu-B1f have a positive effect on the quality and quantity of protein and gluten, while the Glu-A1c + Glu-B1al genotypes were closest to the high-quality category in protein-associated quality traits.

Pasta with Kiwiberry (Actinidia arguta): Effect on Structure, Quality, Consumer Acceptance, and Changes in Bioactivity during Thermal Treatment

In this study, kiwiberry lyophilizate (KBL) was incorporated into pasta at different levels (5%, 10%, and 15% w/w). Kiwiberry fruits’ characteristics (ascorbic acid, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and antioxidant activity determination) as well as physical (cooking properties, color, microscopic structure determination, texture, and water molecular dynamics analysis by low-field NMR) and chemical analyses (proximate composition phenolic compounds composition and antioxidant activity) of KBL-enriched pasta were investigated. The replacement of semolina with KBL in the production of pasta significantly changed its culinary properties. Results showed that the addition of KBL leads to a reduction in optimal cooking time and cooking weight (47.6% and 37.3%, respectively). Additionally, a significant effect of the KBL incorporation on the color of both fresh and cooked pasta was observed. A significant reduction in the L* value for fresh (27.8%) and cooked (20.2%) pasta was found. The KBL-enriched pasta had a different surface microstructure than the control pasta and reduced firmness (on average 44.7%). Low-field NMR results have confirmed that the ingredients in kiwiberry fruit can bind the water available in fresh pasta. The heat treatment resulted in increasing the availability of phenolic compounds and the antioxidant activity (64.7%) of cooked pasta. Sensory evaluation scores showed that the use of 5–10% of the KBL additive could be successfully accepted by consumers.

Effects of Spaghetti Differing in Soluble Fiber and Protein Content on Glycemic Responses in Humans: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Healthy Subjects

This randomized, single blind, cross-over study investigated the glycemic responses to three spaghetti No 7 types differing in dietary protein and soluble fiber content. Fourteen clinically and metabolically healthy, fasting individuals (25 ± 1 years; ten women; BMI 23 ± 1 kg/m²) received isoglucidic test meals (50 g available carbohydrate) and 50 g glucose reference, in random order. GI was calculated using the FAO/WHO method. Capillary blood glucose and salivary insulin samples were collected at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, and 120 min. Subjective appetite ratings (hunger, fullness, and desire to eat) were assessed by visual analogue scales (VAS, 100 mm) at baseline and 120 min. All three spaghetti types (regular, whole wheat, and high soluble fiber–low carbohydrates) provided low GI values (33, 38, and 41, respectively, on glucose scale) and lower peak glucose values compared to glucose or white bread. No differences were observed between spaghetti No 7 types for fasting glucose, fasting and post-test-meal insulin concentrations, blood pressure (systolic and diastolic), and subjective appetite. Conclusions: all spaghetti No 7 types, regardless of soluble fiber and/or protein content, attenuated postprandial glycemic response, which may offer advantages to glycemic control.