b'BATTLING GLUTEN FROM THE FIELDClemson University researcher Sachin Rustgi searches for solutions to celiac disease.Sara Brown sarajanellebrown@gmail.comWHEAT HAS LONGhistory of challenges, ranging from drought to pests to diseases. Typical conversations about wheat breeding usually center on agronomic factors of yield and drought tolerance, but new food trends spell trouble for wheats future. Low-carb, gluten-free and protein-centric diets are bringing a greater challenge than the crop has seen before.The war on gluten, the protein that gives bread, pasta and cereal its chewy or crunchy texture, is threatening not only farmers, but also the health of future gen-erations. But Clemson researcher Sachin Rustgis new wheat variety research is proving that gluten might be more man-ageable than we thought.One in 100worldwide, thats the estimated number of people that have celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation. When a personClemson researchers are using state-of-the-art facilities at the Pee Dee Research and with the disease eats gluten, the bodyEducation Center to develop a wheat variety people with celiac disease can eat.mounts an immune response that attacks the small intestine, causing nausea andstands a chance to compete in this new digestive problems. More than 2.5 milliondynamic and feed millions globally. Americans are genetically predisposed toWe need to find a solution where we the disease but are still undiagnosed, theydont have to remove wheat from the estimate. And since its passed genetically,We need to find a solution wherediet, Rustgi says. what some called diet trends at the start of the movement are now concerned itwe dont have to remove wheatNot All Gluten Is Badwill become lower consumer demand. Rustgi didnt just work alone. His team At least thats what Rustgi fears mostfrom the diet.worked with colleagues at Clemsonthat wheat, and all of the crops other Sachin Rustgi University, Washington State University health benefits, will be left behind in aand partner institutions in Chile, China gluten memory. But if plant breeders canand France, to develop a new genotype find ways to reduce gluten, or separate outof wheat with built-in enzymes that break the bad from the good gluten, the cropdown the proteins that cause the bodys 52/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2019'