1. Stress, nutrients and genotype: understanding and managing asparagine accumulation in wheat grain
- Author
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Nigel G. Halford, J. Stephen Elmore, Mark Wilkinson, Sarah Raffan, and Joseph Oddy
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Cultural Studies ,Plant stress ,Agriculture (General) ,Context (language use) ,Signalling ,Biology ,01 natural sciences ,S1-972 ,03 medical and health sciences ,Food security and nutrition ,Nutrient ,Asparagine ,Function ,Food security ,business.industry ,Crop yield ,Religious studies ,food and beverages ,Food safety ,Ammonia detoxification ,Yeast ,Biotechnology ,030104 developmental biology ,Nitrogen mobilisation ,Agriculture ,Wheat ,business ,010606 plant biology & botany ,Metabolic signalling ,Crop management - Abstract
Plant stress and poor crop management strategies compromise the foundations of food security: crop yield, nutritional quality and food safety. Accumulation of high concentrations of the amino acid asparagine in its free (soluble, non-protein) form is an example of an undesirable outcome of stress for the nutritional quality and food safety of wheat because of its role as a precursor to acrylamide, a carcinogenic processing contaminant. In this review, we cover what is known about the mechanisms and functions of free asparagine accumulation in the grain during normal development and particularly during stress in wheat. Comparisons with other plant species, yeast, and mammals are drawn in order to gain deeper insight into the conserved biology underlying asparagine accumulation. Crop management strategies and practices are discussed in the context of managing asparagine accumulation, which must be balanced against other desirable goals, such as sustainability, protein content and yield.
- Published
- 2020