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Purposes The aim of the present study was to examine whether a replacement diet with products made with organic ancient khorasan wheat could provide additive protective effects in reducing glucose, insulin, lipid and inflammatory risk factors, and in restoring blood redox balance in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients compared to diet with product made with modern organic wheat. Methods We conducted a randomized, double-blinded crossover trial with two intervention phases on 21 T2DM patients (14 females, 7 males). The participants were assigned to consume products (bread, pasta, crackers and biscuits) made using semi-whole flour from organic wheat that was either from ancient khorasan wheat or modern control wheat for 8 weeks in a random order. An 8-week washout period was implemented between the interventions. Laboratory analyses were performed both at the beginning and at the end of each intervention phase. Results The metabolic risk profile improved only after the khorasan intervention period, as measured by a reduction in total and LDL cholesterol (mean reduction: −3.7 and −3.4 %, respectively), insulin (−16.3 %) and blood glucose (−9.1 %). Similarly, there was a significant reduction in circulating levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and interleukin-1ra, and a significant increase of total antioxidant capacity (+6.3 %). No significant differences from baseline were noted after the modern control wheat intervention phase. The change (from pre- to post-intervention) between the two intervention arms was significantly different ( p  < 0.05) for total and LDL-c, insulin and HOMA index. Conclusions A replacement diet with ancient khorasan wheat consumption provided additive protection in reducing total and LDL cholesterol, insulin, blood glucose, ROS production, and some inflammatory risk factors, which are all key factors warranting of control in secondary prevention of T2DM compared to a diet with products made with modern wheat.

Identifying archaeobotanical wheat remains is central to reconstructing the evolutionary history of cereal crops. Beyond documenting agricultural practices, such analyses provide critical evidence of phylogenetic diversity, lineage persistence, and local extinction events within the genus L. This study applies advanced computational morphometrics to reveal deep-time changes in wheat species distribution, including the disappearance of taxa now phylogeographically confined to central Asia. We developed a machine learning framework integrating Random Forest compared with logistic regression to classify morphometric data from 848 dry and 340 experimentally carbonized modern grains representing multiple wheat taxa (genus ), alongside 15 archaeobotanical subsp. and 38 var. This probabilistic classifier was then applied to 2463 archeological wheat grains, including 48 from Punta de los Gavilanes and 517 from Almizaraque (southeastern Spain, 3rd-2nd millennium BC). The analysis identified and other phylogenetically distinct wheat taxa-today restricted to central and south Asia-among western European Bronze Age assemblages. These findings indicate that lineages now regionally extinct once formed part of a broader cultivated gene pool spanning into the western Mediterranean. Morphometric evidence highlights that past wheat diversity encompassed multiple clades and morphotypes absent from modern European germplasm. Our results demonstrate substantial phylogenetic turnover in wheat over the past 4000 years, marked by regional extirpations and contraction of once-widespread lineages to central Asia. This provides rare archeological evidence for the tempo and mode of cereal phylogeography, illustrating how domesticated lineages underwent extinction and range restriction akin to wild taxa. By integrating computational morphometrics with archaeobotanical evidence, this study establishes a scalable framework for tracing cryptic phylogenetic diversity, refining models of wheat domestication and assessing long-term genetic erosion in cultivated plants.

Background/Objectives: Khorasan wheat (Kamut) is an ancient grain with widely acclaimed beneficial effects on human health. The objective was to characterise Kamut and to examine the effect of a replacement diet with their products on cardiovascular risk parameters. Subjects/Methods: We conducted a randomized, single-blinded cross-over trial with two intervention phases on 22 healthy subjects (14 females; 8 males). The participants were assigned to consume products (bread, pasta and crackers) made either from Kamut or control semi-whole-grain wheat for 8 weeks in a random order. An 8-week washout period was implemented between the interventions. Laboratory analyses were performed both at the beginning and at the end of each intervention phase. Results: At a general linear model for repeated measurements adjusted for several confounders, consumption of Kamut products showed a significant reduction of metabolic risk factors such as total cholesterol (mean reduction: −8.46 mg/dl; −4%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (−9.82 mg/dl; −7.8%) and blood glucose. Similarly, redox status was significantly improved only after the Kamut intervention phase, as measured by a reduction in both thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (−0.17 nmol/ml; −21.5%;) and carbonyl levels (−0.16 nmol/ml; −17.6%). The replacement diet with Kamut products also resulted in a significant increase of serum potassium and magnesium. Circulating levels of key pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12, tumour necrosis factor-α and vascular endothelial growth factor) were significantly reduced after the consumption of Kamut products. Conclusions: The present results suggest that a replacement diet with Kamut products could be effective in reducing metabolic risk factors, markers of both oxidative stress and inflammatory status.

An annotated reference sequence representing the hexaploid bread wheat genome in 21 pseudomolecules has been analyzed to identify the distribution and genomic context of coding and noncoding elements across the A, B, and D subgenomes. With an estimated coverage of 94% of the genome and containing 107,891 high-confidence gene models, this assembly enabled the discovery of tissue- and developmental stage-related coexpression networks by providing a transcriptome atlas representing major stages of wheat development. Dynamics of complex gene families involved in environmental adaptation and end-use quality were revealed at subgenome resolution and contextualized to known agronomic single-gene or quantitative trait loci. This community resource establishes the foundation for accelerating wheat research and application through improved understanding of wheat biology and genomics-assisted breeding.

Khorasan wheat is an ancient grain with previously reported health benefits in clinically healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to examine whether a replacement diet, thereby substituting all other cereal grains, with products made with organic khorasan wheat could provide additive protective effects in reducing lipid, oxidative and inflammatory risk factors, in patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) in comparison to a similar replacement diet using products made from organic modern wheat. A randomized double-blinded crossover trial with two intervention phases was conducted on 22 ACS patients (9 F; 13 M). The patients were assigned to consume products (bread, pasta, biscuits and crackers) made either from organic semi-whole khorasan wheat or organic semi-whole control wheat for eight weeks in a random order. On average, patients ingested 62.0 g dry weight (DW) day−1 khorasan or control semolina; and 140.5 g DW day−1 khorasan or control flour, respectively. An eight-week washout period was implemented between the respective interventions. Blood analyses were performed both at the beginning and end of each intervention phase; thereby permitting a comparison of both the khorasan and control intervention phases, respectively, on circulatory risk factors for the same patient. Consumption of products made with khorasan wheat resulted in a significant amelioration in total cholesterol (−6.8%), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (−8.1%) glucose (−8%) and insulin (−24.6%) from baseline levels, independently of age, sex, traditional risk factors, medication and diet quality. Moreover, there was a significant reduction in reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipoperoxidation of circulating monocytes and lymphocytes, as well as in the levels of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha. No significant differences from baseline in the same patients were observed after the conventional control wheat intervention phase. The present results suggest that a replacement diet with cereal products made from organic khorasan wheat provides additional protection in patients with ACS. Circulating cardiovascular risk factors, including lipid parameters, and markers of both oxidative stress and inflammatory status, were reduced, irrespective of the number and combination of medicinal therapies with proven efficacy in secondary prevention.

Modern green revolution varieties of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) confer semi-dwarf and lodging-resistant plant architecture owing to the Reduced height-B1b ( Rht-B1b ) and Rht-D1b alleles 1 . However, both Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b are gain-of-function mutant alleles encoding gibberellin signalling repressors that stably repress plant growth and negatively affect nitrogen-use efficiency and grain filling 2 – 5 . Therefore, the green revolution varieties of wheat harbouring Rht-B1b or Rht-D1b usually produce smaller grain and require higher nitrogen fertilizer inputs to maintain their grain yields. Here we describe a strategy to design semi-dwarf wheat varieties without the need for Rht-B1b or Rht-D1b alleles. We discovered that absence of Rht-B1 and ZnF-B (encoding a RING-type E3 ligase) through a natural deletion of a haploblock of about 500 kilobases shaped semi-dwarf plants with more compact plant architecture and substantially improved grain yield (up to 15.2%) in field trials. Further genetic analysis confirmed that the deletion of ZnF-B induced the semi-dwarf trait in the absence of the Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b alleles through attenuating brassinosteroid (BR) perception. ZnF acts as a BR signalling activator to facilitate proteasomal destruction of the BR signalling repressor BRI1 kinase inhibitor 1 (TaBKI1), and loss of ZnF stabilizes TaBKI1 to block BR signalling transduction. Our findings not only identified a pivotal BR signalling modulator but also provided a creative strategy to design high-yield semi-dwarf wheat varieties by manipulating the BR signal pathway to sustain wheat production. A strategy that depends on attenuated brassinosteroid signalling is described for the design of semi-dwarf wheat varieties with improved grain yield compared with that of green revolution varieties.

Triticum urartu (diploid, AA) is the progenitor of the A subgenome of tetraploid ( Triticum turgidum , AABB) and hexaploid ( Triticum aestivum , AABBDD) wheat 1 , 2 . Genomic studies of T. urartu have been useful for investigating the structure, function and evolution of polyploid wheat genomes. Here we report the generation of a high-quality genome sequence of T. urartu by combining bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-by-BAC sequencing, single molecule real-time whole-genome shotgun sequencing 3 , linked reads and optical mapping 4 , 5 . We assembled seven chromosome-scale pseudomolecules and identified protein-coding genes, and we suggest a model for the evolution of T. urartu chromosomes. Comparative analyses with genomes of other grasses showed gene loss and amplification in the numbers of transposable elements in the T. urartu genome. Population genomics analysis of 147  T. urartu accessions from across the Fertile Crescent showed clustering of three groups, with differences in altitude and biostress, such as powdery mildew disease. The T. urartu genome assembly provides a valuable resource for studying genetic variation in wheat and related grasses, and promises to facilitate the discovery of genes that could be useful for wheat improvement. The genome sequence of Triticum urartu , the progenitor of the A subgenome of hexaploid wheat, provides insight into genome duplication during grass evolution.

Advances in genomics have expedited the improvement of several agriculturally important crops but similar efforts in wheat ( Triticum spp.) have been more challenging. This is largely owing to the size and complexity of the wheat genome 1 , and the lack of genome-assembly data for multiple wheat lines 2 , 3 . Here we generated ten chromosome pseudomolecule and five scaffold assemblies of hexaploid wheat to explore the genomic diversity among wheat lines from global breeding programs. Comparative analysis revealed extensive structural rearrangements, introgressions from wild relatives and differences in gene content resulting from complex breeding histories aimed at improving adaptation to diverse environments, grain yield and quality, and resistance to stresses 4 , 5 . We provide examples outlining the utility of these genomes, including a detailed multi-genome-derived nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat protein repertoire involved in disease resistance and the characterization of Sm1 6 , a gene associated with insect resistance. These genome assemblies will provide a basis for functional gene discovery and breeding to deliver the next generation of modern wheat cultivars. Comparison of multiple genome assemblies from wheat reveals extensive diversity that results from the complex breeding history of wheat and provides a basis for further potential improvements to this important food crop.

Aegilops tauschii is the diploid progenitor of the D genome of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum, genomes AABBDD) and an important genetic resource for wheat. The large size and highly repetitive nature of the Ae. tauschii genome has until now precluded the development of a reference-quality genome sequence. Here we use an array of advanced technologies, including ordered-clone genome sequencing, whole-genome shotgun sequencing, and BioNano optical genome mapping, to generate a reference-quality genome sequence for Ae. tauschii ssp. strangulata accession AL8/78, which is closely related to the wheat D genome. We show that compared to other sequenced plant genomes, including a much larger conifer genome, the Ae. tauschii genome contains unprecedented amounts of very similar repeated sequences. Our genome comparisons reveal that the Ae. tauschii genome has a greater number of dispersed duplicated genes than other sequenced genomes and its chromosomes have been structurally evolving an order of magnitude faster than those of other grass genomes. The decay of colinearity with other grass genomes correlates with recombination rates along chromosomes. We propose that the vast amounts of very similar repeated sequences cause frequent errors in recombination and lead to gene duplications and structural chromosome changes that drive fast genome evolution.

The allohexaploid bread wheat genome consists of three closely related subgenomes (A, B, and D), but a clear understanding of their phylogenetic history has been lacking. We used genome assemblies of bread wheat and five diploid relatives to analyze genome-wide samples of gene trees, as well as to estimate evolutionary relatedness and divergence times. We show that the A and B genomes diverged from a common ancestor similar to 7 million years ago and that these genomes gave rise to the D genome through homoploid hybrid speciation 1 to 2 million years later. Our findings imply that the present-day bread wheat genome is a product of multiple rounds of hybrid speciation (homoploid and polyploid) and lay the foundation for a new framework for understanding the wheat genome as a multilevel phylogenetic mosaic.