Chemistry of wheat gluten proteins: Quantitative composition

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Wheat is essential to secure nutrition for the world's population. Its unique processing properties are largely determined by gluten protein content and composition.Findings: Gluten proteins are subdivided into gluten protein types, α-, γ-, ω1,2-, and ω5-gliadins and high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits and lowmolecular-weight glutenin subunits. The overall content and relative proportions of these types vary considerably depending on different genetic and environmental factors and mutual interactions. Conclusion: This review summarizes the latest developments related to the chemistry of gluten and how species and variety, as well as soil type, weather conditions, atmospheric CO 2 concentration, diseases, and fertilization with nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, potassium, and other minerals affect wheat gluten protein composition. Significance and Novelty: Significant progress has been made to study the effect of different factors on gluten composition. However, comparisons between studies are almost impossible, because of the huge variability in experimental setups, environmental conditions and varieties studied. This calls for a need to develop common guidelines on how to set up experiments, on which parameters to investigate and on which procedure to use to improve comparability and reproducibility of the results.

Wheat-Based Glues in Conservation and Cultural Heritage: (Dis)solving the Proteome of Flour and Starch Pastes and Their Adhering Properties

“…Wheat varieties were more numerous in the past; bread wheat landraces have been replaced by monocultures of pure genotypes, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity . It was found that the high-yielding modern varieties have a lower protein content and decreased proportions of gliadins but an increase in glutenins. , The gliadin/glutenin proportion similarly varies by wheat species: while glutenin is the dominant fraction in common wheat, gliadin makes up the highest fraction in species of so-called ancient wheats (einkorn, emmer, and spelt) as well as having an overall higher protein content. , Environmental conditions such as soil, temperature, and irrigation also play a role in protein composition . In parallel to a decrease in overall protein content in modern bread wheat, the starch content has increased .…”

Breeding cereal rye (Secale cereale) for quality traits

“…Rye quality assessment for baking includes proteins, fibers, and starches. In breadmaking, protein and specifically glutens are important in the binding and stretching of dough and improve bread moisture, rising, and crumb texture (Wieser et al., 2023). In contrast to wheat grain, which contains 8%–15% protein, of which 90% is gluten (Wieser et al., 2023), rye grains contain 3.5% gluten, contributing to a denser texture and higher moisture of rye bread (Deleu et al., 2020; Meeus et al., 2021; Schalk et al., 2017).…”

“…In breadmaking, protein and specifically glutens are important in the binding and stretching of dough and improve bread moisture, rising, and crumb texture (Wieser et al., 2023). In contrast to wheat grain, which contains 8%–15% protein, of which 90% is gluten (Wieser et al., 2023), rye grains contain 3.5% gluten, contributing to a denser texture and higher moisture of rye bread (Deleu et al., 2020; Meeus et al., 2021; Schalk et al., 2017). Because of the lower gluten content, rye flour can be deglutenized (Walter et al., 2015), and rye flour components contribute to gluten‐free products (Mansberger et al., 2014).…”

Chemistry of wheat gluten proteins: Qualitative composition

“…The success of wheat is largely due to the special chemical and physical properties of its gluten proteins that make up the essence of wheat uniqueness. They correspond to the storage proteins of wheat and represent around 70%–80% of total grain proteins (P. Shewry, 2019; Wieser et al, 2020).…”

“…In this review, we provide an updated and detailed insight into the chemistry of wheat gluten proteins with a focus on the qualitative composition. Different factors determining the quantitative composition of gluten are available in the associated review by Wieser et al (2022).…”