Accurate Measurement of Pasting Temperature by the Rapid Visco-Analyser:a Case Study Using Rice Flour

Pasting properties are among the most important characteristics of starch, determining its applications in food processing and other industries. Pasting temperature derived from the Rapid Visco-analyser （RVA） （Newport Scientific）, in most cases, is overestimated by the Thermocline for Windows software program. Here, two methods facilitating accurate measurement of pasting temperature by RVA were described. One is to change parameter setting to ＇screen＇ the true point where the pasting viscosity begins to increase, the other is to manually record the time （T1） when the pasting viscosity begins to increase and calculate the pasting temperature with the formula of （45/3.8）×（T1-1）＋50 for rice flour. The latter method gave a manually determined pasting temperature which was significantly correlated with the gelatinization temperature measured by differential scanning calorimetry.

THE STRUCTURE OF THERMOPLASTIC STARCH

The granular structure, crystal structure and gelatinization temp. of thermoplastic starch were studied with a polarized light microscope and a scanning electron microscope, and the crystallinity and crystalline patterns were determined through X ray diffraction. The results indicate that the original granular structure and spherical crystalline structure of starch were disrupted by the action of pressure, heat and shear force with the help of additives. The starch can be melted during extrusion, and part of the spheric crystal was destroyed and changed into a continual amorphous with a few crystalline fractions dispersed in it. The configuration of starch molecules changed from double helices to single helix, which indicated the formation of the complex.

Genetic Polymorphism of Wx Gene and Its Correlation with Main Grain Quality Characteristics in Rice

The allelic variation of the Wx gene in 50 non-glutinous rice varieties （lines） was analyzed by using the microsatellite marker RM190 [for （CT）n simple sequence repeat （SSR）] and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence（CAPS） marker 484/W2R-ACCⅠ[for G/T single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP）]. Six homozygous （CT）n types, namely （CT）20, （CT）19, （CT）18, （CT）17, （CT）16, （CT）14, （CT）11 and （CT）10, and a heterozygous genotype （CT）11/（CT）18 were detected for RM190, of which （CT）11 and （CT）18 were predominant. Two homozygous Wx genotypes （G/G and T/T） and one heterozygous （G/T） were detected using 484/W2R-ACC Ⅰ. Most of the materials with a RM190 of （CT）11 were G/G for SNP of 484/W2R-ACC Ⅰ, while T/T for SNP was predominantly appeared in materials with （CT）18. The materials tested could be grouped into 10 categories using the two markers together. Results indicated that 59.3% variance of amylose content was attributed to the polymorphism of Wx gene revealed by RM190, while 56.1% and 24.6% of the variances in amylose content and gel consistency were respectively to the polymorphism of Wx gene revealed by 484/W2R-ACC Ⅰ. Furthermore, with both SSR and CAPS markers, 72.4% of the variance in amylose content could be explained. In addition, the application prospects of the two markers in breeding were also discussed.

Analysis on Stability of AC,GT and PC in Rice Varieties (Orzya sativa L.)

The investigation of rice varieties stability for amylose content (AC), gelatinization temperature (GT) and protein content (PC) was carried out using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) model in three locations and two years. Eighteen tested varieties were further clustered and evaluated based on the phenotypic values of three quality traits and their Di values from the AMMI analysis. The results showed that the genotype by environment interactions, the differences of phenotype and stability of AC, GT and PC among different genotypes and environments were all significant at 1% level. Also, only one variety, W002, had high stability for all the three quality traits. Additionally, in consideration with the phenotype of AC, GT and PC, and their stability in rice varieties, etc., four rice varieties, W002, Zaofeng 9, Guangling Xiangjing and Nanjing16, could be also applied as breeding parents to improve eating quality and stability of rice.

Influence of Processing Variables on Some Physico-Chemical Properties and Quality of Manioc Starch-Based Adhesives

Bio-degradable cassava starch-based adhesives were produced from chemically gelatinized starch formulations. The varying combinations of process parameters applied include: concentration of gelatinization modifier, mass % borax/starch, and temperature of reaction mixture. The physico-chemical parameters for characterizing the adhesive samples were viscosity, density, pH and bonding strength. The effects of the variation of process parameters on the quality of the adhesives were assessed using response surface (central composite) designs with 2 factors, to relate the highest adhesive quality with the optimal combination of process factors. The adhesives produced using HCl as the gelatinization modifier were of a higher quality than those produced using NaOH with one of the most important quality assessment parameters which is the bond strength being 22.31 kPa at 0.01 M and 20% mass borax/starch and 11.60 kPa at 0.01 M and 8% mass borax/starch for HCl and NaOH respectively. The experimental results demonstrated that the optimal temperature for the production of the adhesive was 85˚C.

Cooking Quality Parameters of Rice Cultivars Grown in Spain

The quality office is complex and made up of many components such as nutritional quality, appearance, cooking quality and eating quality. The cultivar is one of the main factors that could affect to the grain quality office. The aim of this work was to analyze and compare the cooking quality parameters of six different japonica varieties of rice grown in Spain （Senia, Gleva, Bahia, Maratelli, Guadiamar and Bomba）. This work focused on the study of the cooking quality of rice, because it is one of the most important factors related to grain quality in Spain. It was evaluated using five characteristics： amylose content, gel consistency, degree of spreading, gelatinization temperature and pasting parameters. The amylose content ranged from 11.60% to 21.46%, with the Gleva cultivar having the lowest amylose content and with Bomba having the highest. The gel consistency varied between 5.44 cm and 9.81 cm. Regarding the alkali test, the Maratelli cultivar had the highest dispersion and transparency. Maratelli had the lowest gelatinization temperature （61.67±0.08 ℃）, and Senia had the highest gelatinization temperature （67.05±0.02 ℃）. Finally, the pasting parameters showed significant differences among cultivars with different viscosities.

Map-based cloning of the ALK gene,which controls the gelatinization temperature of rice

Gelatinization temperature (GT) is an important parameter for evaluating the cooking and eating quality of rice besides amylose content (AC). The inheritance of the genes affecting GT has been widely studied and is considered to be controlled by a major gene. Here, we report the map-based cloning of rice ALK that encodes the soluble starch synthase II (SSSII). Comparison between the DNA sequences from different rice varieties, together with the results obtained with digestion of the rice seeds in alkali solution, indicates that the base substitutions in coding se-quence of ALK may cause the alteration in GT.

ALK,the Key Gene for Gelatinization Temperature,is a Modifier Gene for Gel Consistency in Rice

Gelatinization temperature（GT） is an important parameter in evaluating the cooking and eating quality of rice.Indeed,the phenotype,biochemistry and inheritance of GT have been widely studied in recent times.Previous map-based cloning revealed that GT was controlled by ALK gene,which encodes a putative soluble starch synthase II-3.Complementation vector and RNAi vector were constructed and transformed into Nipponbare mediated by Agrobacterium.Phenotypic and molecular analyses of transgenic lines provided direct evidence for ALK as a key gene for GT.Meanwhile,amylose content,gel consistency and pasting properties were also affected in transgenic lines.Two of four nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in coding sequence of ALK were identified as essential for GT.Based on the single nucleotide polymorphisms（SNPs）,two new sets of SNP markers combined with one cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence marker were developed for application in rice quality breeding.

Effects of soluble starch synthase genes on eating and cooking quality in semi waxy japonica rice with Wx^(mp)

The purpose of this study is to reveal the genetic mechanism of the variation of amylose content among different semi waxy or glutinous japonica rice in the background of Wxmp gene.Sixty-four semi waxy lines derived from the hybrid progenies of Wujing 13 and Milky Princess(Kantou 194)with polymorphism in soluble starch synthase gene SSIIa(SSII-3)and SSIIIa(SSIII-2)but no polymorphism in other starch synthase related genes were used as test materials.The genotypes of SSIIa and SSIIIa allele were identified by molecular markers,and the allelic effects of SSIIa and SSIIIa gene on amylose content(AC),gel consistency(GC),gelatinization temperature(GT)and rapid visco analyzer(RVA)profile characteristics were analyzed.The significant effects of SSIIa and SSIIIa alleles and the interactive effects between two genes on AC,GT,GC and RVA profile characteristics were found.The SSIIa and SSIIIa alleles from Wujing13 shown positive effects on AC with an average increase of 1.87 and 1.23%in 2 years respectively.There was no significant effect on GT for SSIIa or SSIIIa allele but remarkable influence on GT when the co-existence of the two genes.The genotype SSIIa^(mp)SSIIIa^(mp) shown 1.34℃higher GT than genotype SSIIawjSSIIIawj(mp and wj indicated that the gene was derived from Milky Princess and Wujing 13 respectively,the same as in the below).Different genes and alleles resulted in significant different GC.The genetic effect of SSIIawj and SSIIIamp on GC was 8.74 and 9.62mm respectively.The GC of SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) was 10.64 and 16.95mm higher than that of SSIIa^(mp)SSIIIa^(wj) and SSIIawjSSIIIawj,respectively.The allele SSIIa^(wj) could increase the peak viscosity(PKV),hot paste viscosity(HPV),cool paste viscosity(CPV)and breakdown viscosity(BDV),while decrease the consistency viscosity(CSV)and setback viscosity(SBV).However for the allele SSIIIa^(wj) the opposite was true.The genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) had the largest PKV,HPV and CPV,the genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(wj) had the largest BDV and CSV,but the genotype SSIIa^(wj)SSIIIa^(mp) had the least SBV.According to the comprehensive effect of each trait,the genotype SSIIawjSSIIIamp was the best.The allelic variation and interaction effect of SSIIa and SSIIIa genes have important reference value for improving cooking and eating quality of semi waxy japonica rice.