Ricerc@Sapienza

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum) is widely grown in the Mediterranean area. The semolina obtained by this grain is used to prepare pasta, couscous, and baked products all over the world. The growing area affects the characteristics of Durum wheat; consequently, it is relevant to trace this product. The present study aims at developing an analytical methodology which would allow tracing durum semolina harvested in 7 different Italian macro-areas.

Durum wheat is naturally more susceptible to Fusarium graminerum infection in comparison to common wheat. The improvement of durum wheat resistance against F. graminearum is a challenge due to the lack of resistance sources in its gene pool. FHB-resistance factors were introduced in durum wheat by generating recombinant inbred lines (RILs), obtained by crossing the hexaploid resistant accession 02-5B-318 with the susceptible durum wheat cv. Saragolla. In this work we explored the possible contribution of cell wall (CW) in RILs with improved FHB resistance.