Unravelling the potential of the wheat microbiome for the development of healthier, more sustainable and resilient wheat-derived food & feed products

Project Information

WHEATBIOME

Grant agreement ID: 101084344

DOI

10.3030/101084344

EC signature date 6 October 2022

Start date 1 January 2023

End date 31 December 2026

Funded under

• Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Total cost

€ 5 060 547,91

EU contribution

€ 5 060 547,25

Coordinated by

REQUIMTE REDE DE QUIMICA E DE TECNOLOGIA ASSOCIACAO
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WHEATBIOME (Unravelling the potential of the wheat microbiome for the development of healthier, more sustainable and resilient wheat-derived food & feed products)

Reporting period: 2024-07-01 to 2025-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Food production systems are facing many challenges like climate change and demographic growth. There is an urgent necessity for more sustainable approaches to transform food production systems, by advancing scientific research that contribute to climate resilience, biodiversity preservation, soil restoration and healthier diets, in line with the European Green Deal priorities and Farm2Fork strategy.
Wheat, a central crop with high protein and energy content and with low growing requirements, benefits from soil and plant microbial communities for (1) restoring soils and protecting the crops and wheat-derived products against pathogens; (2) regulating plant metabolisms and overall crop quality; and (3) improving the production of nutritional and healthy food and feed products. However, the current data about wheat microbiomes is scarce. The WHEATBIOME project is advancing the knowledge on the wheat microbiome’s role in sustainable development through cutting-edge research and collaboration between academia, industry, food system actors and governmental authorities. The project is exploring microbiomes in wheat production systems from soil to plate aiming to:
• Understand the impact of biotic/abiotic factors on wheat microbiomes;
• Evaluate the impact of soil-plant microbiome interactions on wheat metabolism and nutritional quality to further develop a new decision support system (DSS) that will include sustainable farming practices for resilient and nutritious wheat crops;
• Discover new wheat fermentative microbiomes for development of novel fermented foods and feeds.
• Study microbial fermentations in food/feed quality and reduce food waste by recirculating wheat byproducts.
• Assess the impact of wheat nutrients and microbiome (prebiotics, probiotics, bioactive compounds, immunogenic proteins, etc.) on human/animal microbiota and health.
• Assess the perception of food system actors and citizens about microbiomes within food systems.
Overall, WHEATBIOME’s research and development actions, combined with a multi-actor approach, will boost the change in food systems towards sustainability.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The project aims to elucidate the role of soil and plant microorganisms in enhancing wheat sustainability, nutritional quality, immunogenicity, and the composition of bioactive compounds in wheat plants. Two distinct case studies were implemented to examine the impact of agricultural practices (both ecological and conventional, including irrigation and non-irrigation conditions) as well as edaphoclimatic factors and wheat genetic varieties on soil and plant microbiota. The objective is to correlate these microbial communities and the soil-plant interactions with the nutritional, immunogenic, and bioactive composition of wheat, develop a bioinformatic tool to help select the wheat variety according to the proper edaphoclimatic conditions for specific nutritional outcome and select the microbes with best performance to design microbial-based food. Wheat samples from three harvesting campaigns were collected, and the characterization of soil and plant microbiota for both case studies are almost complete. Additionally, the analysis of the nutritional composition concerning the impact of agricultural practices is also mostly finalized. The fully assessment of the influence of edaphoclimatic and genetic conditions on nutritional composition is still ongoing. The quantification of total immunogenic proteins has been accomplished for both case studies, and the characterization of bioactive compounds is currently in progress. More than 30 fermented food prototypes (including beverages, and yogurt-type products) were developed by selecting the best microbial performance according to nutritional composition, bioactive compounds and food immunogenicity. To date, three wheat-based fermented beverages have already been selected and are now being scaled-up for sensory and clinical trials. All food prototypes are being analyzed in terms of bioactive compounds, gluten quantification and antinutritional and safety aspects for further research. In addition, WHEATBIOME has already defined the methodological procedure for assessing the environmental and economic performance of the project food prototypes. Survey questionnaires to food system actors were implemented in Hungary, Netherlands and Spain providing a widen evaluation on European food system's ability to provide healthy and sustainable food and feed, identifying barriers and enablers for adopting sustainable practices at the EU level, and determining the desired characteristics of novel wheat-based fermented food and feed products.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The impact of various farming practices, climate change, and genetic variability on the wheat microbiome remains inadequately characterized. Understanding the combined effects of these biotic and abiotic factors on wheat crops is crucial for establishing guidelines that promote more sustainable farming practices. WHEATBIOME is investigating the interconnections between environmental conditions, climate factors, and genotype on wheat plant growth and development with two case studies in different European regions (Spain and The Netherlands). Additionally, WHEATBIOME is collecting data on the factors influencing the wheat food system, including perceptions, needs, and limitations related to microbiome use in food development, by interviewing stakeholders across three European countries.
WHEATBIOME is also contributing to the global demand for healthier and more sustainable food products by establishing protocols for developing alternative plant-based foods through fermentation, such as beverages, yogurt-like products, and cheese substitutes. Moreover, WHEATBIOME is pioneering in the identification of novel fermentative microorganisms isolated from wheat plants and soil to be used for healthier plant-based food development. WHEATBIOME is committed to developing innovative feed products that are both environmentally friendly and economically viable. The project is setting parameters for the development of feed products with enhanced nutritional profiles, achieved by fermenting wheat byproducts with selected microorganisms.