Storage Proteins Accumulation and Aggregation in Developing Wheat Grains

The aggregative properties of wheat grain prolamins are largely responsible for the technological functionalities of the lours and doughs. The ability of wheat prolamins to form a plastic three-dimensional network during the mixing depends to a large extent on their ability to interact. These aggregative properties, which can be evaluated by measuring their molecular weight distribution, are dependent on the polymorphism of the protein subunits present but also on the environmental conditions that are applied during grain development. Much progress has been made in the last 30 years at a genetic level to beter understand and/or to favour the interaction properties of the storage proteins. However, these improvements can be strongly limited by environmental conditions. Any modiication of the redox status of the grain cells in response to an oxidative stress can lead to a decrease in the degree of association of the prolamins by limiting the protein-protein interactions during the grain desiccation. Considering the current and projected environmental impacts (i.e. climate change with increasing heat stress), it is essential to beter understand these phenomena to implement new breeding strategies for a sustainable quality