Newest publications
Improved prediction of wheat quality and functionality using near-infrared spectroscopy and novel approaches involving flour fractionation and data fusion
(2025) Ziegler, Denise; Buck, Lukas; Scherf, Katharina Anne; Popper, Lutz; Schaum, Alexander; Hitzmann, Bernd; Ziegler, Denise; Department of Process Analytics, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Buck, Lukas; Department of Bioactive and Functional Food Chemistry, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany; Scherf, Katharina Anne; Department of Bioactive and Functional Food Chemistry, Institute of Applied Biosciences, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Karlsruhe, Germany; Popper, Lutz; Mühlenchemie GmbH & Co. KG, Ahrensburg, Germany; Schaum, Alexander; Department of Process Analytics, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Hitzmann, Bernd; Department of Process Analytics, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
The accurate and rapid determination of wheat quality is of great importance for the wheat supply chain. Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has become an established method for this purpose. So far, however, predictions for most wheat quality characteristics are not accurate enough to replace reference measurements, with the exception of protein content. This study investigates the potential to improve the prediction of 41 wheat quality parameters (protein- and starch-related parameters, solvent retention capacity, farinograph, extensograph, alveograph) based on a flour fractionation approach (sieve fractionation, dough preparation, gluten washing) and data fusion using the established techniques of NIR spectroscopy and chemometrics. Results show that preprocessing of flour significantly altered the composition of the samples, which reflected in spectral differences of their NIR spectra. This also led to a change in the prediction accuracy for many wheat quality parameters. Compared to the prediction using flour spectra, flour fractionation with or without data fusion improved the RMSECV between 5.6 and 28.6% for 35 out of the 41 quality parameters tested, leading to R2CV between 0.80 and 0.96 for many of them. Gluten, dough, and the 50–75 µm and the 75–100 µm fractions were particularly important for the improved predictions. The best predictions were often based on data fusion of spectra from different sample types, demonstrating the importance of using complementary information from different data sources to improve predictions. The results underline the potential of this novel approach to be established in the industry as an extension of conventional NIR spectroscopy to improve wheat quality prediction.
Assessing the response to genomic selection by simulation
(2022) Buntaran, Harimurti; Bernal-Vasquez, Angela Maria; Gordillo, Andres; Sahr, Morten; Wimmer, Valentin; Piepho, Hans-Peter
The goal of any plant breeding program is to maximize genetic gain for traits of interest. In classical quantitative genetics, the genetic gain can be obtained from what is known as “Breeder’s equation”. In the past, only phenotypic data were used to compute the genetic gain. The advent of genomic prediction (GP) has opened the door to the utilization of dense markers for estimating genomic breeding values or GBV. The salient feature of GP is the possibility to carry out genomic selection with the assistance of the kinship matrix, hence improving the prediction accuracy and accelerating the breeding cycle. However, estimates of GBV as such do not provide the full information on the number of entries to be selected as in the classical response to selection. In this paper, we use simulation, based on a fitted mixed model for GP in a multi-environmental framework, to answer two typical questions of a plant breeder: (1) How many entries need to be selected to have a defined probability of selecting the truly best entry from the population; (2) what is the probability of obtaining the truly best entries when some top-ranked entries are selected.
The economic, agricultural, and food security repercussions of a wild pollinator collapse in Europe
(2025) Feuerbacher, Arndt; Kempen, Markus; Steidle, Johannes L. M.; Wieck, Christine; Kempen, Markus; Independent Consultant, Geilenkirchen, Germany; Steidle, Johannes L. M.; KomBioTa - Center of Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany; Wieck, Christine; KomBioTa - Center of Biodiversity and Integrative Taxonomy, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, Germany
Biodiversity conservation policies often face resistance, yet the global agri-food system’s vulnerability to ecosystem service declines, such as wild pollinator losses, remains poorly understood. Wild pollinators are vital for sustaining crop yields, especially nutrient-rich crops. Declines in their populations could disrupt food production, trade, and global food security. Here, we show that a hypothetical collapse of wild pollinators in Europe by 2030 would reduce European crop yields by 8%, trigger modest cropland expansion, and diminish net exports. Although global market adjustments, through changes in land use and trade, would partially mitigate these impacts, they risk exacerbating food insecurity and undermining biodiversity conservation efforts globally. Prices for pollinator-dependent crops would rise globally, with Europe seeing the steepest increases. While producers may benefit from higher prices, consumers bear the brunt. Global annual welfare losses would reach €34 billion in 2030, with Europe and the EU accounting for €24 billion and €12 billion, disproportionately impacting EU member-states resistant to biodiversity-friendly policies.
Influence of meat batter addition in ground beef on structural properties and quality parameters
(2022) Berger, Lisa M.; Gibis, Monika; Witte, Franziska; Terjung, Nino; Weiss, Jochen
The determination of the amount of non-intact cells (ANIC) in ground beef products is usually performed using a time-consuming and subjective histometric approach neglecting structural properties, which is why more objective and faster methods including evaluation of quality parameters are needed. To determine, whether the addition of meat batter increases the histologically determined ANIC ground beef samples containing increasing shares of meat batter (non-intact cells) were investigated histologically and results were compared to other methodological approaches, namely lactate dehydrogenase activity (LDH), soluble protein content, metmyoglobin content, drip loss, firmness, and cooking loss. Histological measurements showed that ANIC increased linearly with the addition of meat batter to ground beef. The quality parameters drip loss ( r = − 0.834, p < 0.01) and firmness ( r = − 0.499, p < 0.01), and the structural parameter metmyoglobin content ( r = 0.924, p < 0.01) revealed significant correlations with the amount of added meat batter, and detected differences between ground beef samples when the difference in the amount of added batter-like-substance was ≥ 25%. Therefore, those methods might be useful to estimate and extrapolate ANIC, and assess product quality of ground beef samples in a faster and simpler way. The cooking loss was not affected by meat batter addition, whereas LDH activity revealed non-repeatable results. Taken together, histometric methods are useful to measure ANIC, nevertheless, it is limited in terms of characterization of morphological and structural changes in the meat. However, other parameters were correlated and could, in addition, be used for assessing the quality of ground meat.
Tissue culture and genetic transformation in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) - a mini-review
(2025) Porras-Murillo, Romano; Zhong, Jiaxin; Schmöckel, Sandra M.; Porras-Murillo, Romano; Department of Physiology of Yield Stability, Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Otto-Sander-Str. 5, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany; Zhong, Jiaxin; Department of Physiology of Yield Stability, Institute of Crop Science, University of Hohenheim, Otto-Sander-Str. 5, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany
Quinoa is considered a nutrient-rich crop with immense potential to address food security, particularly in challenging environments such as saline soils and drought. Extensive genetic resources and a reference genome exist, making it a model crop. However, breeding programs and biotechnological treatments are necessary to fully utilize quinoa as a model crop and expand quinoa agriculture, as it encounters challenges when grown outside its natural regions. To expand its use, breeding programs and biotechnological tools are needed. This review examines and summarizes the tissue culture and genetic transformation efforts for quinoa to enhance its agricultural potential. Since maintaining aseptic conditions in quinoa tissue culture is critical, most of the reviewed studies surface-sterilize using sodium hypochlorite and ethanol at concentrations and exposition times that do not affect germination. For in vitro seed germination, the studies have shown that different conditions—the strength of the growth medium, photoperiod, and temperature—result in relatively high success rates of seedling cultivation. Quinoa tissue culture methods also utilize various explants and hormones to induce specific plant responses, such as callus, shoot, or root formation. However, few studies used Agrobacterium for stable and transient genetic transformations, with limited success. The biggest challenge appears to be regeneration from tissue culture. Further methods, including tissue-culture-independent transformation methods, are discussed here to achieve genetic transformation in quinoa.