Glutenin subunit composition, amylose content, and grain hardness are critical determinants for the end-use properties of wheat. Glutenin composition determines gluten strength, which is important for bread-making. Lower amylose content increases springiness, which is important in white salted noodle production. Grain hardness affects the damaged starch content in flour ; a high damaged starch content increases water absorption and facilitates dough fermentation. These qualtiy attributes are genetically determined. Here, I review these genetic traits based on their allelic variation in imported wheat classes and domestic wheat cultivars. It is thus potentially possible to optimize the allelic compositions of these traits in order to improve the end-use properties of domestic wheat cultivars.
