The effect of nitrogen fertilization on the expression of protein in wheat and tritordeum varieties using a proteomic approach

Quantitative proteomic analysis for characterization of protein components related to dough quality and celiac disease in wheat flour, dough, and heat-treated dough

High-sensitivity 4D label-free proteomic technology was used to identify protein components related to gluten quality and celiac disease (CD) in strong-gluten wheat cultivar KX 3302 and medium-gluten wheat cultivar BN 207. The highly expressed storage protein components in KX3302 were high-molecular-weight-glutenin-subunits (HMW-GSs), α-gliadin, and globulin, whereas those in BN207 were γ-gliadin, low-molecular-weight-glutenin-subunits (LMW-GSs) and avenin-like proteins. In addition, BN207 had more upregulated metabolic proteins than KX3302. The abundance of storage proteins increased during dough formation. After heat treatment, the upregulated proteins accounted for 57.53 % of the total proteins, but the downregulated storage proteins accounted for 79.34 % of the total storage proteins. In cultivar KX3302, CD proteins mainly included α-gliadin and HMW-GSs, whereas in BN207, they were mainly γ-gliadin and LMW-GSs. Thermal treatment significantly reduces the expression levels of CD-related proteins. These findings provide a new perspective on reducing the content of CD-related proteins in wheat products.

Peptidomics analysis of in vitro digested wheat breads: Effect of genotype and environment on protein digestibility and release of celiac disease and wheat allergy related epitopes

Wheat proteins can trigger immunogenic reactions due to their resistance to digestion and immunostimulatory epitopes. Here, we investigated the peptidomic map of partially digested bread samples and the fingerprint of epitope diversity from 16 wheat genotypes grown in two environmental conditions. Flour protein content and composition were characterized; gastric and jejunal peptides were quantified using LC-MS/MS, and genotypes were classified into high or low bread protein digestibility. Differences in flour protein content and peptide composition distinguish high from low digestibility genotypes in both growing environments. No common peptide signature was found between high- and low-digestible genotypes; however, the celiac or allergen epitopes were noted not to be higher in low-digestible genotypes. Overall, this study established a peptidomic and epitope diversity map of digested wheat bread and provided new insights and correlations between weather conditions, genotypes, digestibility and wheat sensitivities such as celiac disease and wheat allergy.

Tritordeum as an Innovative Alternative to Wheat: A Comparative Digestion Study on Bread

Tritordeum results from the crossbreeding of a wild barley (Hordeum chilense) species with durum wheat (Triticum turgidum spp. turgidum). This hexaploid crop exhibits agronomic and rheological characteristics like soft wheat, resulting in an innovative raw material to produce baked goods. We applied a gel-based proteomic approach on refined flours to evaluate protein expression differences among two widespread tritordeum cultivars (Aucan and Bulel) taking as the reference semolina and flour derived from a durum and a soft wheat cvs, respectively. The products of in vitro digestion of model breads were analyzed to compare bio-accessibility of nutrients and mapping tritordeum bread resistant peptides. Significant differences among the protein profiles of the four flours were highlighted by electrophoresis. The amino acid bio-accessibility and the reducing sugars of tritordeum and wheat breads were comparable. Tritordeum cvs had about 15% higher alpha-amino nitrogen released at the end of the duodenal simulated digestion than soft wheat (p < 0.05). Bulel tritordeum flour, bread and digested bread had about 55% less R5-epitopes compared to the soft wheat. Differences in protein expression found between the two tritordeum cvs reflected in diverse digestion products and allergenic and celiacogenic potential of the duodenal peptides. Proteomic studies of a larger number of tritordeum cvs may be successful in selecting those with good agronomical performances and nutritional advantages.