Wheat glutenin allele 1Ax2∗ improves dough and bread quality without compromising yield

Area of Science:

• Plant breeding
• Genetics
• Agronomy

Background:

• Wheat breeding programs prioritize high yield and grain quality.
• Modulating High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunit (HMW-GS) composition is a strategy to improve quality without compromising yield.
• Near-isogenic lines (NILs) provide a controlled system to study specific genetic variations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of different 1Ax alleles (1Ax-null, 1Ax1, 1Ax2*) on wheat yield, agronomic traits, and quality characteristics.
• To compare the performance of NILs carrying specific HMW-GS alleles in the Xiaoyan-22 background.
• To identify superior glutenin alleles for breeding high-yield and high-quality wheat.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of genetic and protein similarity in three NILs of Xiaoyan-22.
• Field trials over two seasons (2021-2022 and 2022-2023) to assess yield and agronomic traits.
• Evaluation of flour, dough, and bread-making quality parameters, including unextractable polymeric protein (UPP) and specific volume.

Main Results:

• Grain yield was not significantly affected by the 1Ax1 or 1Ax2* alleles compared to the 1Ax-null allele.
• The 1Ax1 allele decreased protein yield and dough yield but increased unextractable polymeric protein (UPP%) and dough stability.
• The 1Ax2* allele significantly increased UPP% and dough stability, leading to a substantial improvement in specific volume, with higher grain yield than 1Ax1.

Conclusions:

• Introgression of the 1Ax2* allele shows potential for enhancing wheat quality without negatively impacting grain yield.
• The 1Ax2* allele is a promising candidate for breeding high-quality wheat cultivars, particularly in backgrounds similar to Xiaoyan-22.
• This study provides valuable insights into glutenin allele selection for developing superior wheat varieties.