Location: Grain Quality and Structure Research
2024 Annual Report
Objectives
OBJECTIVE 1: Determine and improve analytical methods for the biochemical and macro-molecular interactions responsible for hard winter wheat end-use quality.
Sub-objective 1A: Establish connections between glutenin subunit composition and polymeric protein content and composition and functionality of hard winter wheat.
Subobjective 1B: Assess the potential of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the evaluation of tortilla quality, particularly changes that occur in tortillas during the staling process and compare to subjective analysis (rollability) and objective analysis.
OBJECTIVE 2: Evaluate and report the milling (processing and intrinsic end-use quality) parameters of hard winter wheat commercially-viable cultivars as part of a Congressionally-designated direct mission of service.
Subobjective 2A: Evaluate and screen the quality attributes of hard winter wheat experimental breeding lines and improve quality of existing hard winter wheat cultivars for end-product quality of the world’s wheat-based staples, such as bread (whole wheat), tortillas, noodles and other products desired by customer markets.
Subobjective 2B: Coordinate and conduct essential hard winter wheat projects of national importance, such as Wheat Quality Council (WQC), Regional Performance Nursery (RPN) and Hard Winter Wheat Crop Quality Survey (HWWCQS) for improvement of U.S wheat quality.
Approach
Cereal grains are the foundation of food and nutrition worldwide with the United States being a perennial leader in hard winter wheat (HWW) production. Thus, domestic and international customers come to expect high quality wheat from the Great Plains. That said, there continues to be challenging international competition for the global HWW market. To ensure the U.S. remains competitive both domestically and internationally, the end-use quality of hard HWW must continually be evaluated and improved. This project will identify the physical and biochemical components of hard winter wheat that contribute to functionality. In addition, we will evaluate the intrinsic end-use quality of hard winter wheat progenies for wheat breeding programs in the Great Plains Area as a regional wheat quality laboratory (Hard Winter Wheat Quality Laboratory, HWWQL). The HWWQL provides critical end-use quality data to the HWW growing region and conducts three annual evaluation projects that include the Wheat Quality Council Evaluations, Regional Performance Nursery Program and Hard Winter Wheat Crop Quality Survey, as well as hundreds of breeding lines from breeders in the Great Plains and adapted HWW areas of eastern States, such as NC, SC, GA, KY and VA. The data from these projects assist breeders, producers, millers, bakers and other key industry components, in making pivotal decisions regarding breeding, agronomics, processing and marketing of experimental and commercial wheat varieties.
Progress Report
Sub-objective 1A: ARS researchers at Manhattan, Kansas, and collaborators from Kansas State University, continued investigating the effects of single kernel near infrared (SK-NIR) sorting on the processing of different wheat from various locations in Kansas and quality of flours from the sorted wheat portions. Quality tests including Mixograph, rheometer, glutomatic, GlutoPeak, hybrid SDS-SRC (solvent retention capacity) sedimentation test, polymeric/monomeric protein ratio, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Rapid Visco Analyzer (RVA) were used to evaluate the quality of flours. Results showed that our SK-NIR calibration for kernel protein is robust and could separate kernels by their protein content. The sorting, variety, and growing location all had significant impact on the milling performance of the sorted portions. Results from the GlutoPeak test revealed significant differences in the parameters for the different fractions of the four wheat varieties. Within a variety, the gluten strength index (GSI) increased as the protein content increased, suggesting differences in the gluten strength. Similarly, as the protein content of different fractions increased within a variety, the weight value (WV) (obtained from hybrid SDS-SRC sedimentation test) increased significantly, suggesting different bread baking quality of different fractions. As the protein content increased within a variety, the polymeric-to-monomeric ratio decreased. DSC results showed no significant differences in the onset temperature and peak temperatures. However, growing location may affect the onset and peak temperature of certain wheat varieties. RVA test showed no significant difference in pasting temperature and time across the different fractions within varieties. However, the peak viscosity from low protein content portions were higher than those from high protein content wheat portions.
Sub-objective 1B: Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to examine the effects of storage on the functional groups of tortillas over the course of 15 days. Measurements were recorded on days 0, 4, 12, and 15. The starch and protein bands increased during storage of tortillas, which is consistent with an increase in tortilla hardness.
Sub-objective 2A: The wheat and flour quality characteristics of hard winter wheat experimental breeding lines were evaluated. Breeding programs from Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, West Virgina, Wyoming, and private breeders submitted samples for evaluation. Reports of over 40 quality parameters per sample were provided at stakeholder meetings and field days.
Sub-objective 2B: The end-use quality of more than 2000 hard winter wheat breeding lines were tested. More than 40 quality characteristics were measured for each sample. The data was provided to the wheat industry in real-time during harvest and updated weekly.
Accomplishments
1. Single kernel calibration model can predict wheat protein with greater than 90% accuracy. Protein content is an important parameter that can determine end-use quality in wheat. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a rapid, high-throughput technique used to analyze whole grain. ARS researchers in Manhattan, Kansas, developed protein calibration models for the single kernel near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer that can sort kernels based on user-defined criteria. The protein calibration model based on single kernel protein results showed an ability to predict protein content with 90 to 97% accuracy. This will allow researchers and breeders to effectively sort wheat kernels according to their protein contents as well as obtain protein distribution features (protein range and standard deviation) of wheat samples.
2. Exploring the effects of wheat bran extract on gluten structure, dough rheological, and bread characteristics. Wheat bran, which constitutes the outer layers of the wheat grain and is characterized as a dietary fiber and protein-based component, can exert diverse physicochemical properties upon dough properties that affect baking quality. ARS researchers in Manhattan, Kansas, evaluated the effects of wheat bran extract (WBE), rich in carbohydrate and protein, on bread dough properties. The addition of 7.5% WBE significantly increased the bread volume compared to the control bread. The addition of WBE also resulted in a remarkable improvement in dough properties. The addition of WBE led to a rise in dough viscosity due to aggregation of protein and starch. These findings demonstrate that the inclusion of WBE in wheat flour presents a promising approach for producing high-quality bread that is enriched with dietary fiber and protein.
3. Regional performance of hard winter wheat evaluated. The U.S. annually produces approximately 20 million acres of hard winter wheat (about 40% of total U.S. wheat production in the Great Plain states, with a value exceeding $8 billion). ARS scientists in Manhattan, Kansas, completed the annual Regional Performance Nursery report in which over 350 composites from more than 1500 individual samples from more than 30 locations were evaluated for milling and baking quality. The report was posted online and a relational database for summarization and interpretation of regional performance nursery wheat end-use quality data annually updated were used by wheat breeders to assist in the decision-making process of their breeding program for end-use quality.
4. Development of new commercial wheat varieties through the Hard Winter Wheat Quality Council. The Wheat Quality Council advocates for the development of new wheat varieties that improve the value of wheat in the U.S. supply chain. ARS scientists in Manhattan, Kansas, completed the annual Wheat Quality Council report in which approximately 30 advanced wheat lines from the Great Plain states were evaluated for milling and baking quality with collaborators from baking and milling industries. The report was posted online, and statistical results were reviewed and discussed at the annual Wheat Quality Council meeting with various sectors of wheat industries to improve end-use quality before the breeding lines were released for U.S. wheat farmers. The evaluation of end-use quality during breeding of new wheat lines will identify wheat that does not meet important quality criteria and thus prevent these cultivars from entering the marketing system with potentially disastrous economic results.
Review Publications
Nkurikiye, E., Chen, G., Tilley, M., Wu, X., Zhang, G., Fritz, A., Li, Y. 2023. Incorporating chickpea flour can enhance mixing tolerance and dough strength of wheat flour. Cereal Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10705.
Li, C., Tilley, M., Chen, Y., Li, Y. 2023. Effect of bran composition and functionality on bread-making properties of reconstituted whole wheat flours. Food Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00289.
Yu, Z., Yunusbaev, U., Fritz, A., Tilley, M., Akhunova, A., Trick, H., Akhunov, E. 2024. CRISPR-based editing of the omega- and gamma-gliadin gene clusters reduces wheat immunoreactivity without affecting grain protein quality. Nature Plants. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.14231.
Li, C., Chen, G., Tilley, M., Chen, Y., Li, Y. 2023. Comparing bread-making properties of white and whole wheat flours from 64 different genotypes: A correlation analysis. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 114. Article 103793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcs.2023.103793.