United Kingdom
January 12, 2026

Scientists from the Delivering Sustainable Wheat programme at Rothamsted Research and the John Innes Centre have identified an easy route to improving the healthiness of white bread and other foods made from wheat flour. This new research shows that a variant form of a single gene results in a higher soluble dietary fibre content in the flour. This has significance for health because higher soluble dietary fibre in food is associated with numerous health benefits including reducing risk factors for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. 

The natural gene variant works by disrupting the function of an enzyme that cross-links the dietary fibre in cell walls, so making it more soluble. A single letter change in the DNA of the variant causes the enzyme to go to the wrong part of the cell. Because the researchers have pinpointed the exact DNA change responsible, any wheat carrying it can confidently be predicted to have higher soluble fibre, making it easy to identify and breed wheat varieties with this trait. It turns out this “high soluble fibre” variant is already present in about 20% of modern wheat varieties and can therefore be adopted by plant breeders and food processors, resulting in healthier diets for consumers in UK and other countries with a western diet. 

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Website: http://www.rothamsted.bbsrc.ac.uk

Published: January 12, 2026