Screening Spring Wheat for Midge Resistance in Relation to Ferulic Acid Content

Abstract

The concentration of ferulic acid (FA), the major phenolic acid in the wheat kernel, was found to differ significantly in the mature grain of six wheat cultivars known to have a range of tolerance to the orange wheat blossom midge (Sitodiplosis mosellana). Differences in FA content were correlated with floret infestation level of the cultivars. The wheat cultivars ranked similarly in FA content at the four locations where they were tested, despite a significant effect of environment. Ferulic acid was synthesized mainly during the early stages of grain filling but at different rates among cultivars. Ferulic acid was concentrated primarily in the shorts and bran fractions in an insoluble-bound form. A high correlation was obtained between FA contents as determined by GLC, fluorometry, UV, and colorimetry. The colorimetric procedure was modified as a qualitative, simple, and rapid test for identifying midge-resistant wheat and evaluated in several field trials. The method should provide a rapid tool in the preliminary screening of experimental lines in the development of midge-resistant wheat cultivars.

NMR Metabolomics of Thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) Resistance in Senecio Hybrids

“…CGA has been described as an anti-feedant and digestibility reducer in different caterpillar species (Mallikarjuna et al 2004;Johnson and Felton 2001;Simmonds and Stevenson 2001) and sucking insects such as aphids (Miles and Oertli 1993). FQA has been implicated in the resistance of sucking herbivores such as cereal aphids (Cabrera et al 1995;Havlickova et al 1996) and cereal midges (Ding et al 2000;Abdel-Aal et al 2001). FQA is a precursor of lignin conferring rigidity to cell walls (Bennett and Wallsgrove 1994).…”

Distribution of Phenolic Acids and Antioxidant Activities of Different Bran Fractions from Three Pigmented Wheat Varieties

“…There are mainly two groups of phenolic acids in wheat bran: hydroxybenzoic and hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives. Vanillic and salicylic acids are mainly hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives while ferulic acids and p-coumaric are the most common derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid [21]. Phenolic acids in cereal grains are in free, soluble conjugates, and bound forms.…”

Phenolic acid composition and antioxidant capacity of acid and alkali hydrolysed wheat bran fractions

“…Vanillic and salicylic acids, for example, are derivatives of benzoic acid while ferulic acid, the dominant phenolic acid in a wheat grain, and caffeic acid are derivatives of cinnamic acid (Abdel-Aal et al, 2001). Phenolic acids are predominantly found in the outer bran layer of a wheat grain (Beta, Nam, Dexter, & Sapirstein, 2005;Gallardo, Jimenez, & Garcia-Conesa, 2006;Moore et al, 2006).…”

“…Phenolic acids are predominantly found in the outer bran layer of a wheat grain (Beta, Nam, Dexter, & Sapirstein, 2005;Gallardo, Jimenez, & Garcia-Conesa, 2006;Moore et al, 2006). Though termed secondary metabolites, phenolics play an essential role in protecting plants from UV radiation (Stalikas, 2007), inhibiting pathogens (Abdel-Aal et al, 2001) and providing structural integrity to the cell wall (Klepacka & Fornal, 2006). The majority of phenolics in a wheat grain are insoluble and bound by ester and ether linkages with polysaccharides, such as arabinoxylan and lignin, in the cell wall (Liyana-Pathirana & Shahidi, 2006;Renger & Steinhart, 2000), while a smaller portion is soluble (Stalikas, 2007).…”