An international study in Mexico identifies which genes determine the quality of wheat

Wheat is one of the main crops worldwide: about 270 million tons are produced per year, 20% of the calories and protein of the entire diet comes from wheat and its cultivation covers about 215 million hectares. Several factors, such as environmental adaptability, the ease of storage of the grain or the possibility of making different products such as bread, pasta or cookies, contribute to the success of wheat. But each type of product has a series of its own characteristics that are defined by gluten. For example: that a bread is fluffy, that a biscuit is thin, that the dough is consistent and does not decompose, that a Mexican wheat tortilla or Indian chapati bread can be folded... All these properties are provided by gluten. It is the gluten, and specifically its viscoelastic properties, that determines the quality of the final product to be produced. These viscoelastic properties of gluten are determined by at least 6 genes, of which there are numerous genetic variants (called ...