Exploring genetic dependence of lipase activity to improve the quality of whole-grain wheat

BACKGROUND Whole-grain wheat flour is facing the quality challenge of lipid rancidity, which decreases its nutritional, sensory, and technological properties. One of the major causes of lipid rancidity is endogenous esterases and lipases. This study evaluated 66 European wheat varieties grown at a single site over three years (2014, 2015, and 2016). RESULTS The 66 wheat varieties showed up to threefold variance on esterase and lipase activities. Wheat varieties that are suitable for lipid-stable whole-grain products ('Julius', 'Lona', and 'Banquet') were selected according to their consistently low esterase and lipase activities. The 3-year mean-based broad-sense heritability of esterase and lipase was 0.75 and 0.44 respectively. CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate great genetic dependence of both esterase and lipase activities in wheat. The moderate to high heritability brings a new prospect of breeding selection of low-lipase-activity wheat for stable whole-grain products. This result will improve the use of wheat as raw material, benefit cultivation selection, and provide consumers with better quality products. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry