Written by Charlotte Cunningham
A group of researchers have identified the parts of the wheat genome that controls the fibre content of white flour, raising hope that healthier white bread will be in supermarkets within five years. Charlotte Cunningham reports. It might be the best thing to happen to bread since, well, sliced bread. An international group of scientists led by Rothamsted Research and the John Innes Centre have opened the door to healthier white bread, after they pinpointed genes responsible for the dietary fibre content of flour. They say this new white flour is otherwise identical and makes a good quality white loaf – but with all the added health benefits that come from eating wholemeal bread, including reduced cancer, diabetes and obesity risks. The high fibre white flour they produced has as much as twice the fibre of traditional white flour. Writing in the journal PLOS ONE, lead author Dr Alison Lovegrove, Rothamsted Research, said the team had achieved the breakthrough by exploiting the results of an earlier genetic screen of over 150 different wheat varieties from around the world. “We knew that the white flour made from one particular Chinese wheat variety, Yumai 34, was unusually high in fibre, but it’s not well…
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