Molecuar basis of the wheat grain cohesion investigated by confocal Raman microspectroscopy: role of the endosperm cell walls in the kernel hardness

摘要

In order to optimize the milling of bread wheat, which represents an economic interest for wheat producers and millers, we have undertaken to study the molecular bases of the grain cohesion. The ability of a wheat variety to be milled is principally governed by the easiness to fragment the endosperm, the starchy part of the kernel (see Figure1), which is correlated with the criterion of hardness [1]. A better understanding of these molecular bases of the kernel hardness can lead to an optimisation of the milling by selecting more interesting varieties or by applying specific treatment on commonly raised wheat.