Cereal Chem 60:315 - 318.  |  VIEW ARTICLE
A Modified Screening Test for Rapid Estimation of Gluten Strength in Early-Generation Durum Wheat Breeding Lines.

J. W. Dick and J. S. Quick. Copyright 1983 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

Gluten strength influences the firmness of cooked pasta. A sodium dodecyl sulfate-microsedimentation test (MST) using 1 g of ground wheat was developed for use in plant breeding to determine relative gluten strength of early-generation durum lines. The MST was compared to an existing sedimentation procedure requiring 6 g of wheat and to micromixograph measurements. Each of these tests was performed, and protein content and cooked spaghetti firmness were calculated for eight durum wheat cultivars grown at six locations in North Dakota. Statistical analyses showed that the MST was superior to the other factors tested for predicting cooked spaghetti firmness. The MST alone accounted for 53% of the variation in cooked firmness. When combined with wheat protein content, the MST accounted for 71% of the variation in cooked firmness. The MST requires small amounts of material (maximum 1 g of ground sample), solutions and equipment, and it is simple to perform, fast, selective, and reproducible when used to screen for gluten strength in durum wheat cultivars. The MST also has proved useful to commercial buyers selecting for or monitoring shipments of durum wheat or semolina on the basis of gluten strength.