Wheat is one of the most important cereals in the world. Although starch is the major component of wheat grains (60–75%), the proteins of the grain (9–18%) are essential for bread-making quality. According to their functionality, wheat grain proteins are divided into two types: gluten and non-gluten proteins. About twenty per cent of the total grain protein corresponds to non-gluten proteins, comprising albumins and globulins, which have metabolic and structural functions with a minor role in wheat quality. In contrast, gluten proteins represent about 80% of the total grain proteins and they are mainly responsible for the rheological properties of the dough. These gluten proteins, also called prolamins given their high content of the amino acids proline and glutamine
[1[1][2],
2], include gliadins (α/β-, ω-, and γ-gliadins) and glutenins, comprising high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) and low molecular weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) (
Figure 1). Most of the gliadins are monomeric proteins and they form intramolecular disulphide bonds; however, glutenins are polymeric complexes linked by inter- and intramolecular disulphide bonds to glutenins and gliadins. Both gliadins and glutenins form a viscoelastic network that traps the CO
2 released during fermentation, providing the typical texture characteristics of the wheat bread. In this process, gliadins are responsible for the viscosity and extensibility of the dough. Nevertheless, glutenins provide elasticity and strength to the dough, contributing, especially the HMW-GS, to the formation of long polymers
[3]. Gluten proteins are coded by multiple genes at complex loci present on chromosomes 1 and 6. In particular, α-gliadins are coded by genes at the
Gli-2 loci present on the short arm of chromosome group 6
[4], ω-, and γ-gliadins are genetically linked and are coded by genes at the
Gli-1 loci on the short arm of chromosome group 1, typical LMW-GS are coded by genes at
Glu-3 loci, genetically linked to
Gli-1 loci, and finally, HMW-GS are coded by genes at
Glu-1 loci present on the long arm of chromosome group 1 (
Figure 2). The presence of gliadins and glutenins, and the balance between these two types of proteins is essential for the quality of the final product
[5].
Figure 1. Gliadins and glutenins fractions revealed by using acid polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), respectively (A) and RP-HPLC (B). ω, ω-gliadins fraction; γ, γ-gliadins fraction; α/β, α/β-gliadins fraction; HMW, high molecular weight glutenins subunit; LMW, low molecular weight glutenins subunit.