Effects of Heat Stress on Metabolite Accumulation and Composition, and Nutritional Properties of Durum Wheat Grain

Abstract

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum (L.) subsp. turgidum (L.) convar. durum (Desf.)) is momentous for human nutrition, and environmental stresses can strongly limit the expression of yield potential and affect the qualitative characteristics of the grain. The aim of this study was to determine how heat stress (five days at 37 °C) applied five days after flowering affects the nutritional composition, antioxidant capacity and metabolic profile of the grain of two durum wheat genotypes: “Primadur”, an elite cultivar with high yellow index, and “T1303”, an anthocyanin-rich purple cultivar. Qualitative traits and metabolite evaluation (by gas chromatography linked to mass spectrometry) were carried out on immature (14 days after flowering) and mature seeds. The effects of heat stress were genotype-dependent. Although some metabolites (e.g., sucrose, glycerol) increased in response to heat stress in both genotypes, clear differences were observed. Following the heat stress, there was a general increase in most of the analyzed metabolites in “Primadur”, with a general decrease in “T1303”. Heat shock applied early during seed development produced changes that were observed in immature seeds and also long-term effects that changed the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the mature grain. Therefore, short heat-stress treatments can affect the nutritional value of grain of different genotypes of durum wheat in different ways.

Wheat Oxygen Evolving Enhancer Protein: Identification and Characterization of Mn-Binding Metalloprotein of Photosynthetic Pathway Involved in Regulating Photosytem II Integrity and Network of Antioxidant Enzymes under Heat Stress

“…Increase in the TAC under HS was observed more in thermotolerant cv. The finding is in agreement with the observation of Sairam et al,(2002) who explained the activities of the antioxidant enzymes involved in thermotolerance goes up under HS; similar observations were reported from our lab also (Kumar et al, 2013 andde Leonardis et al, 2015).…”

Phenol Content and Antioxidant and Antiaging Activity of Safflower Seed Oil (Carthamus Tinctorius L.)

“…Therefore, it appears that these contents are influenced primarily by the increase in mean temperatures. Indeed, heat stress affected the accumulation of phenolic compounds in durum wheat seeds [25]. Another study confirmed that TPC increased significantly with the rise of temperature in sesame [26].…”

Nitric Oxide Increases the Physiological and Biochemical Stability of Soybean Plants under High Temperature

“…Specifically, aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine) are synthesized in the shikimic acid pathway, and are involved in the production of compounds that are important for cellular homeostasis, including phenolic compounds, electron transporters, enzyme cofactors, and antioxidant molecules [46]. These molecules were previously found in plants in response to thermal stress [47]. Furthermore, small amino acids such as valine can serve as osmoregulators [48] or may be used as sources of energy for the plant during stress [49].…”