Transgenic approaches to study quality traits in cereals

Since the first reports of wheat transformation in the early 1990s, protocols continue to be developed using biolistics and Agrobacterium-mediated DNA-delivery into regenerable explants to recover fertile adult transgenic plants. In the majority of cases, the transgene is expressed in a predictable way and segregates during meiosis giving Mendelian ratios of inheritance. Transgenic approaches involving over-expression and targeted gene silencing are increasingly used, both in model and crop species to analyse and validate gene function. We report on developments in the use of Agrobacterium to transform wheat and on transgenic approaches to study the role of HMW glutenin subunits in determining the mixing properties and bread making quality of flour.