Milling & Baking News - July 18, 2017 - 38

Education and Research X

Indexes

Discoveries in ancestor
wheat may help
improve modern wheat

38 / July 18, 2017 XMilling & Baking News

Monthly change

+17.9%
12month
change:
+28.7%

15%
10%
5%
+0.3%

0%
-5%
-10%

+1.8%

+4.3%

+3.2% +3.6%

+11.0%
+1.8%

-0.1%

-1.9%
-6.2%

-7.7%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Bagel Ingredients
Monthly change

12%
12month
change:
+37.0%

8%
+4.6%+4.6% +4.2%

+24.7%

+5.4%

+1.6%

+0.8% +0.4% +0.2%

-1.0%

-4%
-8%

-5.1%

-5.4%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Cake Donuts Ingredients
Monthly change

8%
6%

12month
change:
+7.6%

+4.3%

+3.2%

-4%

+1.8%
+0.7%

+0.7%

0%
-2%

+7.2%

-0.2%

-1.2%

-2.1%

-2.5%

-1.8% -2.3%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Devil's Food Snack Cake Ingredients
Monthly change

12month
change:
-3.1%

+4.3%

4%
2%

+0% -0.5% -0.3%
-0.5%

-0.4%

-2%
-6%

+3.2%
+1.1%

+0.3%

0%
-4%

-2.2%
-3.7%

-4.2%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Pasta Ingredients
20%
12month
change:
+11.1%

Monthly change

15%
10%
+4.9%

5%
0%

+2.2%+1.0% +2.6%

-10%

+1.7% +0%

+15.5%

+0%
-0.2%

-5%

-3.1%

-4.6%
-7.6%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Monthly change

Shortbread Cookie Ingredients
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
-2%
-4%
-6%

+7.4%
+4.4%
+1.5%

+0.3%

+8.3%

12month
change:
+8.4%

+1.5% +1.5%
-0.8%

-2.9%

-3.5%

-3.6%

-4.9%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

Saltine Cracker Ingredients
18%
Monthly change

MANHATTAN, KAS. - Understanding such traits in
modern wheat as drought tolerance, heat tolerance and
resistance to various diseases and pests could result
from research on a wild ancestor of wheat. A study on
the subject was published in the July 7 issue of Science
magazine.
An international team of researchers deciphered all
10 billion letters in the genetic code of wild emmer, an
ancestor to wheat. Thanks to the discovery, scientists
may compare the DNA of the ancestor wheat to modern
wheat varieties.
"From a biological and historical viewpoint, we have
created a time tunnel that we can use to examine wheat
from before the origins of agriculture," said Assaf Distelfeld, Ph.D., a professor at Tel Aviv University in Israel
and the project's leader.
Researchers at Kansas State University in Manhattan were part of the study. Funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food
and Agriculture supported the work at the university.
The findings will allow breeders to more precisely
identify gene segments that will help improve Kansas
wheat varieties.
"The small segments of the wild emmer chromosomes
are being transferred to bread wheat, and these segments
can carry some useful genes in there, and they can be
used in (K.S.U.) breeding programs," said Eduard Akhunov, Ph.D., a professor of plant pathology and wheat
genomics at K.S.U. "It is a valuable source for improving
end-use quality of wheat, especially grain composition
and the mineral content, and protein content. There are
a number of genes that are known to improve this trait,
and they are coming from wild emmer."
Allan K. Fritz, Ph.D., a wheat breeder at K.S.U., is conducting field trials with wild emmer at the Ashland Bottoms research farm near Manhattan. He said it will take
at least 15 years before the traits from the wild wheats
will be available in commercial varieties.
"I'm really excited about this," he said. "We can do
some really good things. I think there's the opportunity
to make much better wheat varieties, increase value in
wheat for our producers, and to have a healthier product for consumers."
Dr. Fritz's research team has done preliminary screening of wild emmer and found resistance to wheat streak
mosaic virus. Reports indicate the wild emmer also contains genes for resistance to fusarium head blight and
strip rust.
"The wild emmers can contain in excess of 30% protein," he said. "So there's high protein. We also know
from the research of others that you can find some wild
emmer that has twice the antioxidant capacity of domesticated durum.
"We know that these wheats accumulate such things
as iron and zinc at a higher level. So we can start to talk
about nutritionally superior wheat varieties that can
come out of this material. We think there's real value
there for consumers as well as helping to ensure production in an increasingly variable environment." MBN

White Pan Bread Ingredients
20%

12%

+10.8%
+5.5%

6%
0%

-1.0%
-4.0%

-6%

-12%

+5.3%

-4.9%

12month
change:
+10.2%

+14.0%

+1.7% +2.7%

-4.2% -3.6%

-10.0%

July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June

bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - July 18, 2017

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