Relationship Between High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunit Composition and Gluten Quality in Ethiopian‐grown Bread and Durum Wheat Cultivars and Lines

Abstract

AbstractThe high molecular weight glutenin subunit (HMW‐GS) composition of 42 Ethiopian‐grown bread wheat and 31 durum wheat cultivars and lines were examined using SDS‐PAGE. Low variability in HMW‐GS composition was present in both classes of wheat. A total of 10 variants with 14 different HMW patterns and seven variants with six different patterns were identified in bread and durum wheat, respectively, reflecting the limited ability of HMW‐GS for cultivar identification. The most predominant alleles were 2*, 7 + 9 and 5 + 10 in bread wheat and nul and 7 + 8 in durum wheat. The Glu‐1 quality scores for bread wheat ranged from 6 to 10, with an average value of 8.7. The variation in HMW‐GS significantly correlated with and accounted for 44 % of the total variation in gluten quality, measured by the sodium dodecyl sulphate sedimentation test. In durum wheat, HMW‐GS variation at Glu‐B1 explained about 25 % of the variation in gluten quality. The high frequency of the 7 + 8 alleles among the landraces and the significant contribution of Glu‐B1 alleles to the total variation in gluten quality indicate the potential benefit of Ethiopian tetraploid landraces in the development of lines suitable for both bread and pasta production.