• Raffan, Sarah

Abstract

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p><jats:bold>Background:</jats:bold> Understanding the determinants of free asparagine concentration in wheat grain is necessary to reduce levels of the processing contaminant acrylamide in baked and toasted wheat products. Although crop management strategies can help reduce asparagine levels, breeders have limited options to select for genetic variation underlying this trait. Asparagine synthetase enzymes catalyse a critical step in asparagine biosynthesis in plants and, in wheat, are encoded by five homeologous gene triads that exhibit distinct expression profiles. Within this family, <jats:italic>TaASN2 </jats:italic>genes are highly expressed during grain development but <jats:italic>TaASN-B2 </jats:italic>is absent in some varieties. <jats:bold>Results: </jats:bold>Natural genetic diversity in the asparagine synthetase gene family was assessed in different wheat varieties revealing instances of presence/absence variation and other polymorphisms, including some predicted to affect the function of the encoded protein. The presence and absence of <jats:italic>TaASN-B2</jats:italic> was determined across a range of UK and global common wheat varieties and related species, showing that the deletion encompassing this gene was already present in some wild emmer wheat genotypes. Expression profiling confirmed that <jats:italic>TaASN2 </jats:italic>transcripts were only detectable in the grain, while <jats:italic>TaASN3.1 </jats:italic>genes were highly expressed during the early stages of grain development. <jats:italic>TaASN-A2 </jats:italic>was the most highly expressed <jats:italic>TaASN2 </jats:italic>homeologue in most assayed wheat varieties. <jats:italic>TaASN-B2 </jats:italic>and <jats:italic>TaASN-D2 </jats:italic>were expressed at similar, lower levels in varieties possessing <jats:italic>TaASN-B2</jats:italic>. Expression of <jats:italic>TaASN-A2 </jats:italic>and <jats:italic>TaASN-D2 </jats:italic>did not increase to compensate for the absence of <jats:italic>TaASN-B2, </jats:italic>so total <jats:italic>TaASN2 </jats:italic>expression was lower in varieties lacking <jats:italic>TaASN-B2</jats:italic>. Consequently, free asparagine levels in field-produced grain were, on average, lower in varieties lacking <jats:italic>TaASN-B2</jats:italic>, although the effect was lost when free asparagine accumulated to very high levels as a result of sulphur deficiency.<jats:bold>Conclusions</jats:bold>: Selecting wheat genotypes lacking the <jats:italic>TaASN-B2 </jats:italic>gene may be a simple and rapid way for breeders to reduce free asparagine levels in commercial wheat grain.</jats:p>

Topics

• impedance spectroscopy
• grain
• Sulphur