# Genetic and Environmental Factors Associated to Glutenin Polymer Characteristics of Wheat
Using A4F-MALLS the influence of the genetic and/or environmental factors have initially reported [20] by studying in a limited set of cultivars grown on two years multilocal trials in France. These preliminary results were reported in workshop and conference proceedings. It was shown that the sum of the average daily air temperature in trial locations, cumulated over the two months of the grain-filling period (June, July), resulted in increased molecular mass of the glutenin polymers. The polymer mass increasing being higher for soft wheat as for hard wheat [24]. This also affected the technological quality in increasing the dough tenacity but decreasing dough extensibility and bread loaf volume [25]. This preliminary study, which involved only 2 \({}^{\circ}\)C of difference in daily average temperature between locations, are here extended at a larger number of wheat varieties and environmental conditions offering a more comprehensive influence of agro-climatic factors on the polymers characteristics. A focus on the variations of the polymer characteristics, excluding their influence on dough properties, is here proposed since many questions related to gluten health concern may be addressed to glutenin polymers. It is well-known that gluten may elicit adverse reactions in susceptible patients having celiac disease (CD) and wheat allergy (WA). Other people may suffer from gluten in absence of diagnosed CD and WA; this reaction was called non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) [26]. So far, no specific epitope of GSPs has been found as characteristic of NCGS. Other wheat grain components like \(\alpha\)-Amylase and Trypsin Inhibitors (ATIs). Fermentable Oligo, Di-, Monosaccharides and Polyols (FODMAPS) are actively searched as triggeringthe so-called non-celiac wheat sensitivity (NCWS) (for review, see [27]). When gluten is analyzed, beside the quantitation and molecular characterization of the individual components (gliadins and glutenin) and quantitation of total polymers (%UPP), no physical characterization of the glutenin polymers is performed. The present study reports on some factors associated to the variation of the physical characteristics that could be useful for studying the gluten-related disorders. The main A4F-MALLS' monomeric and polymeric protein profiles are specifically investigated here for the three major glutenin polymer characteristics: average molecular mass (Mw), gyration radius (Rw), and polydispersity index (PI). The aim of the present publication is to estimate the effect of allelic diversity of HMW-GS and LMW-GS and of environmental factors, like temperature and rainfall in particular, during GSP accumulation on specifically the polymer characteristics using a large set of cultivars grown in experimental fields. Climatic records over four years for 11 experimental locations in France, where 192 cultivars have been grown, provided the data, allowing for estimation of the genetic and environmental influences on the variation of the three major polymer characteristics. Consequences of the findings, including some current questions raised regarding non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), will also be discussed.