Lephuthing Mantshiuwa C, Khumalo-Mthembu Thobeka Philile, Tsilo Toi John
Germplasm Development Department, Agricultural Research Council-Small Grain Institute, Bethlehem 9700, South Africa.
Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, South Africa.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Sep 3;26(17):8565. doi: 10.3390/ijms26178565.
End-use quality is a crucial aspect of wheat quality, influencing the type and quality of the produced food products. It is mostly determined by the content and characteristics of the protein as well as the starch in the grain. Being a staple food, wheat provides more than 30% of the total calories and proteins in human diets globally. Wheat grain consists of a protein network, called gluten, which provides wheat doughs with their unique viscoelastic properties. The genetic improvement of end-use quality traits is indispensable to meet the requirements of grain markets, millers, and bakers. Thus, modern approaches such as proteomics and genomics are important to precisely identify alleles, genes, as well as their functions in improving end-use quality. End-use quality is mainly regulated by grain protein content, grain hardness and starch synthase genes, as well as gluten proteins, which can be exploited to improve the quality of wheat for the production of desired wheat cultivars. The aim of this review is to highlight the progress, challenges, and opportunities in breeding for end-use quality in wheat. The paper outlines the following key aspects: (1) challenges associated with breeding for end-use quality and (2) opportunities such as genomic selection, marker-assisted selection (MAS), and genetic variation in landraces and wild relatives for end-use quality improvement and the genes regulating end-use quality. Lastly, the paper discusses the prospects for future quality improvement in wheat. The review provides a comprehensive insight into the effects of genes on regulating end-use quality and serves as baseline information for wheat breeders to guide the development and deployment of wheat cultivars for future quality improvement.
最终用途品质是小麦品质的一个关键方面,影响着所生产食品的类型和品质。它主要由谷物中蛋白质以及淀粉的含量和特性决定。作为主食,小麦提供了全球人类饮食中超过30%的总热量和蛋白质。小麦籽粒由一种称为面筋的蛋白质网络组成,它赋予小麦面团独特的粘弹性。最终用途品质性状的遗传改良对于满足谷物市场、面粉厂和面包师的要求必不可少。因此,蛋白质组学和基因组学等现代方法对于精确鉴定等位基因、基因及其在改善最终用途品质方面的功能很重要。最终用途品质主要受谷物蛋白质含量、籽粒硬度和淀粉合成酶基因以及面筋蛋白的调控,这些因素可用于改良小麦品质以培育出所需的小麦品种。本综述的目的是突出小麦最终用途品质育种方面的进展、挑战和机遇。本文概述了以下关键方面:(1)与最终用途品质育种相关的挑战;(2)诸如基因组选择、标记辅助选择(MAS)以及地方品种和野生近缘种中用于改善最终用途品质的遗传变异和调控最终用途品质的基因等机遇。最后,本文讨论了小麦未来品质改良的前景。该综述全面深入地探讨了基因对调控最终用途品质的影响,并为小麦育种者提供了基线信息,以指导未来品质改良的小麦品种的培育和推广。