Breeding wheat for organic farming: Can the high grain protein gene Gpc-B1 help to tackle challenges in view of end-use quality?

• Published in: Journal of cereal science 2024-11, Vol.120, p.104011, Article 104011
• Main Authors: Grausgruber, Heinrich, Pancholi, Hayusha Naresh, Ciucă, Matilda, Cristina, Daniel, Mayer, Marianna, Bender, Denisse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alleles; Baking quality; Central European region; Europe; grain protein; income; Marker-assisted selection; Multi-environment trials; nitrogen; protein content; Triticum aestivum; Triticum turgidum subsp. dicoccoides; wheat
• ISSN: 0733-5210
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcs.2024.104011

Organic farming contributes to sustain healthy ecosystems, but challenges such as lower crop yields and supply of the nitrogen needs of crops remain. Wheat is the most important organic arable crop in Europe and grain protein content is the main quality trait also for grading organic wheat despite that high baking quality can be also realized at lower protein contents. Hence, breeding of organic wheat varieties that realize a stable high grain protein content even at lower nitrogen availability is of utmost importance to guarantee income of organic wheat growers. A major QTL for high grain protein content was identified in wild emmer and transferred into bread wheat. We tested six different wheat genetic backgrounds varying for the presence/absence of the functional Gpc-B1 allele in multi-location trials in Central Europe for their performance under organic growing. The increase in grain protein content caused by the functional Gpc-B1 allele was present in almost all genetic backgrounds, however, was not consistent across all tested quality traits. None the less, the functional Gpc-B1 allele may play a major role to increase the stability of organic wheat to reach minimum requirements by traders and processors with respect to grain protein content. [Display omitted] •Grain protein content is an important trait in global wheat trade.•Protein content of organic wheat is usually lower compared to conventionally grown wheat.•Specific market requirements for organic wheat are only existing in a very few countries.•The functional allele of Gpc-B1 can help organic wheat to meet market requests for protein content.•The exploitation of Gpc-B1 in organic wheat breeding is dependent on the genetic background.