Biotechnological approaches for grain quality improvement in wheat: Present status and future possibilities

Abstract

Among cereals, wheat is a unique gift of nature to the mankind. Once wheat grain is converted into dough, it can be moulded into innumerable products of the choice, depending upon its suitability for making various end products. The criteria of assessing wheat grain quality traits are as varied as their different uses. Moreover, these quality traits and their parameters are very complex, often polygenic and still not well defined. However, the effects of some major genes for grain hardness, storage-protein encoding genes etc. have been well established. With the advent of molecular biology, it has become possible to develop DNA-based markers for traits of interest. These markers are now gaining the attention of the breeders, since PCR-based functional markers developed from gene sequences provide accurate and high throughput data for determination of allelic compositions in breeding materials. Thus, DNA markers complement conventional methods of breeding for developing novel cultivars with desirable attributes in less time. The present review describes the recent advancement in molecular markers and their utilization in breeding programs especially to improve traits relating to wheat grain.