Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Feb 28;357(1418):133-42.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2001.1024.

The structure and properties of gluten: an elastic protein from wheat grain

Peter R Shewry  1 , Nigel G Halford, Peter S Belton, Arthur S Tatham
Affiliations
Review

The structure and properties of gluten: an elastic protein from wheat grain

Peter R Shewry et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

The wheat gluten proteins correspond to the major storage proteins that are deposited in the starchy endosperm cells of the developing grain. These form a continuous proteinaceous matrix in the cells of the mature dry grain and are brought together to form a continuous viscoelastic network when flour is mixed with water to form dough. These viscoelastic properties underpin the utilization of wheat to give bread and other processed foods. One group of gluten proteins, the HMM subunits of glutenin, is particularly important in conferring high levels of elasticity (i.e. dough strength). These proteins are present in HMM polymers that are stabilized by disulphide bonds and are considered to form the 'elastic backbone' of gluten. However, the glutamine-rich repetitive sequences that comprise the central parts of the HMM subunits also form extensive arrays of interchain hydrogen bonds that may contribute to the elastic properties via a 'loop and train' mechanism. Genetic engineering can be used to manipulate the amount and composition of the HMM subunits, leading to either increased dough strength or to more drastic changes in gluten structure and properties.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Jan 1;88(1):68-71 - PubMed
    1. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2000 Jun 15;1479(1-2):135-46 - PubMed
    1. Protein Sci. 1997 Mar;6(3):649-56 - PubMed
    1. Biotechnology (N Y). 1995 Nov;13(11):1185-90 - PubMed
    1. Biochem J. 1996 Nov 1;319 ( Pt 3):741-7 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources