Lipidomic analyses of milling and pearling fractions from wheat grain were carried out to determine differences in composition that could relate to the spatial distribution of lipids in the grain. Free fatty acids and triacylglycerols were major components in all fractions, but the relative contents of polar lipids varied, particularly those of lysophosphatidylcholine and digalactosyldiglyceride, which were enriched in flour fractions. By contrast, minor phospholipids were enriched in bran and offal fractions. The most abundant fatty acids in the analyzed acyl lipids were C16:0 and C18:2 and their combinations, including C36:4 and C34:2. Phospholipids and galactolipids have been reported to have beneficial properties for breadmaking, whereas free fatty acids and triacylglycerols are considered detrimental. The subtle differences in the compositions of fractions determined in the present study could therefore underpin the production of flour fractions with optimized compositions for different end uses.
Doughs were prepared from a single variety breadmaking flour (cv. Hereward), from three successive harvests (years; 2011, 2012 and 2013). A preparation of the aqueous phase from dough, known as dough liquor (DL), was prepared by ultracentrifugation and its physico-chemical properties were investigated. Surface tension and interfacial rheology, showed that the interface of DL was lipid-dominated and that 2013 DL had a different type of interface to 2011 and 2012 DL. This data was consistent with the improved foam stability observed for 2013 DL and with the types of lipids identified. All foams collapsed quickly, but the most stable foam was from 2013 DL with 89.2% loss in foam, followed by 2011 DL with 91.7% loss and 2012 had the least stable foam with a loss of 92.5% of the foam structure. Glycolipids (DGDG and MGDG) were enriched in 2013 DL, and were also present in DL foam, contributing towards improved stability. Neutral lipids, such as FFAs, were enriched in DL foams contributing towards instability and rapid foam collapse. Baking trials using 2012 and 2013 flour, showed increased loaf volumes and gas bubble diameter in 2013 bread compared to 2012 bread, highlighting the potential impact that surface active polar lipids, enriched in the aqueous phase of dough, could have on improving breadmaking quality.
Background: Cereal grains, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), are major sources of food and feed, with wheat being dominant in temperate zones. These end uses exploit the storage reserves in the starchy endosperm of the grain, with starch being the major storage component in most cereal species. However, oats (Avena sativa L.) differs in that the starchy endosperm stores significant amounts of oil. Understanding the control of carbon allocation between groups of storage compounds, such as starch and oil, is therefore important for understanding the composition and hence end use quality of cereals. WRINKLED1 is a transcription factor known to induce triacylglycerol (TAG; oil) accumulation in several plant storage tissues. Results: An oat endosperm homolog of WRI1 (AsWRI1) expressed from the endosperm-specific HMW1Dx5 promoter resulted in drastic changes in carbon allocation in wheat grains, with reduced seed weight and a wrinkled seed phenotype. The starch content of mature grain endosperms of AsWRI1-wheat was reduced compared to controls (from 62 to 22% by dry weight (dw)), TAG was increased by up to nine-fold (from 0.7 to 6.4% oil by dw) and sucrose from 1.5 to 10% by dw. Expression of AsWRI1 in wheat grains also resulted in multiple layers of elongated peripheral aleurone cells. RNA-sequencing, lipid analyses, and pulse-chase experiments using 14 C-sucrose indicated that futile cycling of fatty acids could be a limitation for oil accumulation.Conclusions: Our data show that expression of oat endosperm WRI1 in the wheat endosperm results in changes in metabolism which could underpin the application of biotechnology to manipulate grain composition. In particular, the striking effect on starch synthesis in the wheat endosperm indicates that an important indirect role of WRI1 is to divert carbon allocation away from starch biosynthesis in plant storage tissues that accumulate oil.
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