Genotypic and Environmental Modification of Asian Noodle Qualityof Hard Winter Wheats

Ccrcal Chcm. ~ I (I): 19-2.'1 The relative ellects of environment, genotype, and their interactions on the modification of Asian noodle quality attributes were assessed using 38 winter wheat (TriticlIlIl acstivulIl L.) cultivars and breeding lines gruwn in replicated trials at three Nebraska locations in harvest year 2000. Noodle color was determined in both white salted and yellow alkaline proccdures, and noodle textural featurcs were investigated by pmducing white salted noodles. Significant cnvironmental, genotypic, and genotypc-by-environment variation was observed for nearly all initial and 24-hr noodle color traits in both types of noodles. Significant genotypic effects were obscrved for several textural traits, while significant environmental effects were observed only for noodle hardness and water uptake. However, among the noodle textural traits, the genotype-by-environment interaction was significant only for noodle firmness. High and significant phenotypic correlations were observed between color traits in the two noodle applications. Gcnetic correlations were o/" lower magnitude, indicating the possibility of breeding wheats For the past century, wheat (Triticum acstivul1l L.) brceders in the Great Plains of North America have strived to develop high quality wheats suitable for the production of leavened bakery products, primarily pan breads. or late, more attention has been paid to the fact that hard wheats can function in more products than bread alonc. Due both to changing cultural tastes in North American markets and a desire to more effectively compete in ex.port markets, North American wheat breeders have begun to focus attention on the breeding of wheats for usc in Asian noodle products. Quality requirements for noodle products differ from those of bread products (Kruger 1996); hence, it is important to estahlish procedures and criteria for the development of wheats with acceptahle noodle quality. To effectively develop improved quality wheats, wheat breedcrs require an understanding of the extcnt to which quality characteristics of thc finished products are determined by environmental factors (E), genetic factors (genotype, G), and their interactions. Traits with high genetic components arc most amenable to improvement hy selection (Falconer 1960). The modifications of wheat functional properties by environment and G x E interactions have been well documented for a numher of wheat classes and products (Baenziger et 'II 1985; Bassett et al 1989; Peterson et al 1998). Surprisingly, little information is availahle on the relative effects of genotype, environment, and their interactions on Asian noodle quality. Morris et al (1997) documented the extent of such effects on flour swelling volume, a trait related to noodle-making quality, hut did not measure the direct effects by producing noodles. I Joint contribution or the United Statc:-. \)cparllllcnt or J\gricultun:, Agriculture Research Scrvice and the University of Nehraska Agriculture Research Division as Journal Series Papcl' No. 13973. Mcntion of firm nailles or trade products doc, not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by thc University oj '1ebraska or USDA over other firms or products not mcntioned. 2 USDA-ARS, 344 Kcim, Univer,ity of Ncbraska, Lincoln, NE 68583. Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. ~ I\gricuiturc and Agrirood Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba. "' Department of Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. 5 Dcpartmcnt of Crop & Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Publication no. C-2003-111 O-OSR. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc., 2004. specifically /"or varioLis noodle color types. Strong negative phenotypic and genetic correlations were observed bctwccn flour protein content and noodle brightncss (L*) values in both yellow alkaline and white-salted applications. Textural traits largely were independent o/" noodle color traits. When significant phenotypic or genetic correlations wen~ observed between variable pairs, invariably similar correlations were observcd with flour protein contcnt. Noodle cutting /"orce, cutting arca, and j"inal thickness showed strong phenotypic and genetic correlatioIls with each other anc! with protein content. These variables largely wcre independent oj" noodle j"irmncss and hardness, which were, in turn, more dependent on alleles at the wheat \Vx-A I anc! wx-H I (waxy) loci. Noodle firmness was greatest in tlours li'om wild-type wheats; lines with a null allele oIlly at the wx-AI locus did not diller from wild-type. Softest noodles were produced from lines carrying null alleles at both \Vx-/I I and \Vx-H I, whi Ic lines with a null only at wx-BI were intermediate in softness. Habernicht et al (2002) found that environments favoring higher flour protein concentrations diminished both initial and final noodle brightness. However, the relative magnitudes of the environmental, genotypic, and G x E interactions were not established. Such information is crucial to the effective design of strategies to develop wheats with improved noodle quality. Full-scale noodle quality evaluations are not practical during early stages of breeding programs" For breadmaking quality, hard wheat breeders have relied on small-scale tests to identify lines in early generations with the potential to produce high-quality finished products. Such assays inelude various measures of flour protein concentration and quality, allelic status at loci encoding HMW glutenin proteins, SDS sedimentation volumes, and rheological devices such as the mixograph. For noodles, the importance of grain polyphenol oxidases as a factor contributing to discoloration has been well documented (Anderson and Morris 200 I). For noodle textural features, nour swelling tests (Crosbie and Lambe 1993), flour pasting properties as measured by the Rapid Visco Analyser (Bhattacharya and Corke 1996; Batey et al 1997), or the presence of null alleles at the three wheat waxy (wx) loci (Epstein et al 20(2) all have been proposed as possible early generation tools. Within specific sample sets, each of these assays has been correlated with noodle textural properties. The IV,\" loci condition the production of isofonns of the granule-bound starch synthase (GBSS), the enzyme responsible for amylose production in cereal endosperms. Null alleles at these loci arc related to changes in flour amylose content (Miura et al 1994). The goals of this investigation, then, were to document the relative effects of environmental, genotypic, and G x H interactions on noodle quality traits, and to determine to what extent genotypic variation was related to flour protein concentration, grain hardness, and allelic status at the wx loci. MATERIALS AND METHODS