Rheological properties and baking performance of new waxy lines : Strengths and weaknesses

In Western countries, the use of waxy wheat in bread-making is gaining interest in view of extending the shelf-life of bread, avoiding the use of additives. Considering the high impact of the environment on wheat properties, selection of waxy lines able to adapt to a particular environment is highly recommended. In this frame, the behavior of three new Italian waxy lines (IW) were compared with that of two waxy lines breeded in United States (USW). Compared to USW, two out of three IW lines exhibited better mixing properties in terms of higher tolerance to mechanical stress (stability and softness index). IW dough showed similar water absorption, stickiness values and visco-elasticity (G\u2032 and G\u2033) compared to USW samples. On the other hand, the waxy wheat lines adapted to the Italian environmental conditions showed a more developed loaf volume with respect to USW lines. The difficulties in dough handling that is typical of waxy wheat when used alone could be partially solved using waxy wheat in combination with non-waxy flours

Marker-Assisted Pyramiding of Blast-Resistance Genes in a japonica Elite Rice Cultivar through Forward and Background Selection

Rice blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, is one of the main rice diseases worldwide. The pyramiding of blast-resistance (Pi) genes, coupled to Marker-Assisted BackCrossing (MABC), provides broad-spectrum and potentially durable resistance while limiting the donor genome in the background of an elite cultivar. In this work, MABC coupled to foreground and background selections based on KASP marker assays has been applied to introgress four Pi genes (Piz, Pib, Pita, and Pik) in a renowned japonica Italian rice variety, highly susceptible to blast. Molecular analyses on the backcross (BC) lines highlighted the presence of an additional blast-resistance gene, the Pita-linked Pita2/Ptr gene, therefore increasing the number of blast-resistance introgressed genes to five. The recurrent genome was recovered up to 95.65%. Several lines carrying four (including Pita2) Pi genes with high recovery percentage levels were also obtained. Phenotypic evaluations confirmed the effectiveness of the pyramided lines against multivirulent strains, which also had broad patterns of resistance in comparison to those expected based on the pyramided Pi genes. The developed blast-resistant japonica lines represent useful donors of multiple blast-resistance genes for future rice-breeding programs related to the japonica group

A catalogue of Triticum monococcum genes encoding toxic and immunogenic peptides for celiac disease patients

The celiac disease (CD) is an inflammatory condition characterized by injury to the lining of the small-intestine on exposure to the gluten of wheat, barley and rye. The involvement of gluten in the CD syndrome has been studied in detail in bread wheat, where a set of “toxic” and “immunogenic” peptides has been defined. For wheat diploid species, information on CD epitopes is poor. In the present paper, we have adopted a genomic approach in order to understand the potential CD danger represented by storage proteins in diploid wheat and sequenced a sufficiently large number of cDNA clones related to storage protein genes of Triticum monococcum. Four bona fide toxic peptides and 13 immunogenic peptides were found. All the classes of storage proteins were shown to contain harmful sequences. The major conclusion is that einkorn has the full potential to induce the CD syndrome, as already evident for polyploid wheats. In addition, a complete overview of the storage protein gene arsenal in T. monococcum is provided, including a full-length HMW x-type sequence and two partial HMW y-type sequences

Exploring the potential of endophyte-plant interactions for improving crop sustainable yields in a changing climate

Climate change poses a major threat to global food security, significantly reducing crop yields as cause of abiotic stresses, and for boosting the spread of new and old pathogens and pests. Sustainable crop management as a route to mitigation poses the challenge of recruiting an array of solutions and tools for the new aims. Among these, the deployment of positive interactions between the micro-biotic components of agroecosystems and plants can play a highly significant role, as part of the agro-ecological revolution. Endophytic microorganisms have emerged as a promising solution to tackle this challenge. Among these, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and endophytic bacteria and fungi have demonstrated their potential to alleviate abiotic stresses such as drought and heat stress, as well as the impacts of biotic stresses. They can enhance crop yields in a sustainable way also by other mechanisms, such as improving the nutrient uptake, or by direct effects on plant physiology. In this review we summarize and update on the main types of endophytes, we highlight several studies that demonstrate their efficacy in improving sustainable yields and explore possible avenues for implementing crop-microbiota interactions. The mechanisms underlying these interactions are highly complex and require a comprehensive understanding. For this reason, omic technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics have been employed to unravel, by a higher level of information, the complex network of interactions between plants and microorganisms. Therefore, we also discuss the various omic approaches and techniques that have been used so far to study plant-endophyte interactions

Quantification of genetic relationships among A genomes of wheats

The genetic relationships of A genomes of Triticum urartu (Au) and Triticum monococcum (Am) in polyploid wheats are explored and quantified by AFLP fingerprinting. Forty-one accessions of A-genome diploid wheats, 3 of AG-genome wheats, 19 of AB-genome wheats, 15 of ABD-genome wheats, and 1 of the D-genome donor Ae. tauschii have been analysed. Based on 7 AFLP primer combinations, 423 bands were identified as potentially A genome specific. The bands were reduced to 239 by eliminating those present in autoradiograms of Ae. tauschii, bands interpreted as common to all wheat genomes. Neighbour-joining analysis separates T. urartu from T. monococcum. Triticum urartu has the closest relationship to polyploid wheats. Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum and T. turgidum subsp. durum lines are included in tightly linked clusters. The hexaploid spelts occupy positions in the phylogenetic tree intermediate between bread wheats and T. turgidum. The AG-genome accessions cluster in a position quite distant from both diploid and other polyploid wheats. The estimates of similarity between A genomes of diploid and polyploid wheats indicate that, compared with Am, Au has around 20% higher similarity to the genomes of polyploid wheats. Triticum timopheevii AG genome is molecularly equidistant from those of Au and Am wheats

Hulled wheats in Italy today

Einkorn (Triticum monococcum subsp. monococcum), emmer (Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccum) and spelt (Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta) are hulled wheats, i.e. wheats with glumes that tightly envelop the kernels even after harvesting. Staple food of humankind for several thousand years, they are currently cropped only in limited areas and represent a minimal part of total wheat production. Current trends towards low-impact and sustainable agriculture as well as an ever-increasing interest in the nutritional aspects of food suggest that the hulled wheats may still play a role in human consumption. Today in Italy, out of a total wheat area of 1 800 000 ha (mostly durum wheat), hulled wheats or \u201cfarri\u201d cover less than 4000 ha. Einkorn is cropped on ~300 ha, scattered across the country but with a core area in the Po plain south of Brescia. Emmer is the most diffused hulled wheat, cultivated on ~3000 ha along the peninsula mountain range, from Tuscany to Molise. The \u201cfarro della Garfagnana\u201d, cropped in a mountainous area of Tuscany, received in 1996 the European IGP (Indicazione Geografica Protetta), i.e. geographic identity protected by law, while in Umbria the \u201cFarro di Monteleone di Spoleto\u201d was awarded in 2010 a DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) by the European Community. The third hulled wheat species, spelt, is managed mainly in central Italy and Alto Adige (S\ufcd Tyrol) on about 500 ha. The increasing cultural and commercial interest of \u201cfarri\u201d has led to new research and to the release of improved varieties with better agronomical performances. Low cultivation costs and good market prices, especially for organic crops, guarantee a viable market even in recession phases. Their further and sustainable diffusion relies on offering the consumers a range of different food products that combine good technological quality with the outstanding nutritional value of hulled wheats