Larger-quality wheat offers higher yields and includes up to 25% more protein.

A group of scientists from around the world has developed a way to generate higher-quality wheat. Researchers from the University of Adelaide and the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom have discovered a genetic driver that enhances wheat production attributes while also increasing protein content by up to 25%.

“Little is known about the process behind determinants of yields and protein content in wheat production,” stated lead researcher Dr. Scott Boden of the University of Adelaide’s School of Agriculture, Food and Wine.

“Finding a gene that affects these two characteristics could lead to the development of new wheat types with greater grain quality.”

“Because wheat accounts for approximately 20% of all protein consumed worldwide, the impact of this research could have a huge societal benefit by allowing for higher protein content in grains, which could help make more healthy foods like bread and morning cereals.”

The research is the first to employ a forward-genetics screen of a mutant population to find a gene that regulates wheat reproductive development. The findings of the study offer the potential to improve the nutritional and economic value of wheat.

“The genetic variant we discovered increases the protein content of plants cultivated in the field by 15 to 25%.” “These types also generate paired spikelets, which are extra spikelets,” Dr. Boden explained.

“We haven’t seen a rise in output from the extra spikelets yet, but we’re hoping for one in superior kinds planted by farmers.”

“Because the increase in protein content happens without a reduction in yield, this discovery has much more potential to assist breeders and producers economically than the enhanced nutritional value alone.”

“Aside from the essential effect of this work for wheat breeding in the future, the research itself is of enormous importance to the scientific community because it presents an elegant solution to a complex problem.”

The team anticipates that the new wheat varieties will be available to breeders in two to three years, with advantages to farmers in seven to ten years.

The findings of the team will be published in the journal Science Advances today (May 11, 2022).

The Royal Society (UK), the Biological and Biotechnology Sciences Research Council (UK), the Australian Research Council (ARC), the South Australian Grain Industry Trust (SAGIT), and the Waite Research Institute at the University of Adelaide supported this investigation.