Improving the end use properties of wheat by manipulating the grain protein composition

The wheat storage proteins account for up to about 60% of the total grain proteins. They correspond to the gluten proteins, which form a visco-elastic network that enables dough to be processed into bread, pasta and other products. We are using a range of biochemical, biophysical and molecular approaches to characterize gluten proteins and to understand their role in determining the grain processing properties, focusing on the high molecular weight (HMW) subunits of glutenin which are major determinants of dough strength. We are also using genetic engineering to explore the mechanism of glutenin elasticity and to effect improvements, by inserting genes encoding mutant and wild type HMW subunits into model lines and commercial cultivars.