| Abstract: | Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) causes Asian noodles to lose their bright color over time. Null Ppo‐A1 and Ppo‐D1 alleles are available that confer very low kernel PPO levels. Our goal was to characterize the effect of the Ppo‐A1i and Ppo‐D1f null alleles on the color and texture profile of white salted noodles. A white‐seeded spring wheat carrying Ppo‐A1i/Ppo‐A2d and Ppo‐D1f was crossed to a hard white‐seeded isoline of Choteau spring wheat with Ppo‐A1b/Ppo‐A2a and Ppo‐D1b and to a hard white‐seeded isoline of Vida spring wheat with Ppo‐A1a/Ppo‐A2b and Ppo‐D1b. Resultant lines homozygous for the null‐Ppo alleles or for the alternate parent Ppo alleles were selected and grown in replicated trials. The null‐Ppo alleles had no detrimental effects on kernel or flour traits. Noodles prepared from straight‐grade or whole wheat flour from the null‐Ppo allele class were less cohesive and softer than noodles from the alternate parent Ppo allele class for the White Choteau but not the White Vida population. Noodles prepared from straight‐grade and whole wheat flour from the null‐Ppo class were brighter, more red, and more yellow after 24 h and showed less change in L* with time than noodles prepared from the alternate parent Ppo class. The relative difference between the two genotype classes for change in L* with time (0–24 h) exceeded 3.5 L* for noodles from both types of flour, which was an improvement over existing low‐Ppo alleles. Incorporating the null‐Ppo alleles into wheat varieties could improve the color profile of Asian noodles. |
