Depending on the cultivar, higher concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere can significantly alter the protein composition of wheat. This affects not only baking quality but potentially also the tolerability of wheat products. This is the conclusion of a new study led by the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. According to the study, the adaptation of crops to climate change should in the future focus not only on high yields but also on quality characteristics such as protein composition.
As a result of climate change, the global CO₂ concentration in the atmosphere has risen from around 340 ppm in 1980 to about 425 ppm in 2024. Depending on future socioeconomic developments, it could rise to around 600 ppm by 2050. Wheat, one of the world’s most important staple foods, will also grow under significantly higher CO₂ concentrations in the future.
So far, there have been only a few field trials
To date, however, only a few field trials have investigated how elevated CO₂ concentrations affect the protein composition of wheat. To fill this knowledge gap, the interdisciplinary team of researchers cultivated ten winter wheat cultivars under realistic growing and environmental conditions. They exposed some of the plants to an elevated CO₂ concentration (eCO₂, 546 ppm). The other plants grew under current CO₂ conditions.
After harvest, the researchers analyzed the composition of wheat proteins in the various grain samples using a high-resolution mass spectrometric method they had developed themselves. They focused on proteins such as amylase/trypsin-inhibitors, puroindolines, and gluten proteins, as well as celiac disease-active peptides.
Changes in Protein Composition with Consequences
In general, the content of amylase/trypsin-inhibitors increased under elevated CO₂ conditions. In contrast, the concentrations of puroindolines, gluten proteins, and certain celiac disease-active peptides—which may be produced from gluten proteins during digestion—decreased. “However, the extent of these changes depended largely on the specific wheat cultivar,” says Sabrina Geisslitz, principal investigator and research associate in Katharina Scherf’s research group at the Leibniz Institute. “Our results also showed that the reduced concentration of gluten proteins was associated with poorer baking quality,” the scientist added.
Katharina Scherf, head of the Food Biopolymer Chemistry research group at the Leibniz Institute and professor of Food Biopolymer Systems at the TUM School of Life Sciences, adds: “The observed changes in amylase/trypsin-inhibitors and certain celiac disease-active peptides could also be relevant in the long term for wheat-related diseases. However, further studies are needed to clarify the actual biological and immunological significance of these differences.”
The study results underscore how important it is to identify and breed wheat cultivars that maintain high baking quality even under rising CO₂ concentrations while containing as few potentially intolerable proteins as possible.
In addition to researchers from the Leibniz Institute, the interdisciplinary team included scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the Bavarian State Research Center for Agriculture, and the Forschungszentrum Jülich.
Publication: Geisslitz S, Kaemper C, Norwig MC, Fechner A, Knopf O, Muller O, Geyer M, Hartl L, Scherf KA. Elevated CO₂ induces cultivar-dependent changes in wheat proteins linked to wheat-related disorders and baking quality. Food Chem. September 20, 2026;530:151161. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151161
Funding: The project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Regional Identity (BMLEH) based on a resolution of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany through the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) as part of the Innovation Promotion Program. Project number 2818404B18 (BigBaking). Co-funded by the European Union (ERC, GLUTENOMICS, 101040437). Views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the funding agency can be held responsible for this. Open-access funding was made possible and organized by the DEAL project.
More Information:
The ten winter wheat cultivars studied:
The ten winter wheat cultivars studied included Apostel, Asory, Campesino, Foxx, Hyvega, Informer, KWS Emerick, LG Initial, Moschus, and RGT Reform. The Hyvega cultivar exhibited a distinctive characteristic: under elevated CO₂ conditions (eCO₂), its protein content in the grain increased by 2.7 percent. In contrast, the protein content of the remaining nine cultivars decreased by 1.9 to 10.3 percent.
The evaluation of all analyses also revealed significant differences among the cultivars. Asory, Campesino, LG Initial, and Moschus reacted sensitively to the elevated CO₂ concentration across all parameters examined. Apostel and KWS Emerick, on the other hand, proved to be comparatively tolerant.
Functional properties of wheat proteins:
Amylase/trypsin-inhibitors serve as the plant’s natural defense against herbivores. However, they are also suspected of triggering allergies and contributing to non-celiac wheat sensitivity. Puroindolines significantly determine the hardness of wheat kernels and thus affect the processing and baking properties of the flour. Gluten proteins are crucial for baking quality but also play a role in conditions such as celiac disease. The reason: They contain specific amino acid sequences that, during digestion, are broken down enzymatically in the gastrointestinal tract to form celiac disease-active peptides . These peptides can trigger an immune response in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition. Peptides are short chains consisting of 2 to 50 amino acids. If the chains are longer than 50 amino acids, they are referred to as proteins.
Celiac disease is a chronic disorder of the small intestine. Gluten intolerance is the main trigger of the disease, which occurs in individuals with a genetic predisposition. It is not yet fully understood which other factors, aside from genetic predisposition, contribute to the development of the disease.
Contacts:
Expert Contact:
Dr. Sabrina Geisslitz
Food Biopolymer Chemistry Research Group
Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology
at the Technical University of Munich (Leibniz-LSB@TUM)
Lise-Meitner-Str. 34
85354 Freising
Phone: +49 8161 71-2975
Email: s.geisslitz.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de
Profile: https://www.leibniz-lsb.de/en/institute/staff/profile-dr-sabrina-geisslitz
Press Contact at Leibniz-LSB@TUM:
Dr. Gisela Olias
Knowledge Transfer, Press and Public Relations
Phone: +49 8161 71-2980
Email: g.olias.leibniz-lsb@tum.de
https:// www.leibniz-lsb.de
Information About the Institute:
The Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (Leibniz-LSB@TUM) comprises a unique research profile at the interface of Food Chemistry & Biology, Chemosensors & Technology, and Bioinformatics & Machine Learning. As this profile has grown far beyond the previous core discipline of classical food chemistry, the Institute spearheads the development of a food systems biology. Its aim is to develop new approaches for the sustainable production of sufficient quantities of food whose biologically active effector molecule profiles are geared to health and nutritional needs, but also to the sensory preferences of consumers. To do so, the Institute explores the complex networks of sensorically relevant effector molecules along the entire food production chain with a focus on making their effects systemically understandable and predictable in the long term.
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Note on the use of AI
The press release was first translated from German into American English using DeepL Pro . The press officer and researchers then reviewed the text, making corrections where necessary to ensure it was both factually and linguistically accurate.
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Food Chemistry
10.1016/j.foodchem.2026.151161
Experimental study
Not applicable
Elevated CO₂ induces cultivar-dependent changes in wheat proteins linked to wheat-related disorders and baking quality
20-Sep-2026
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.