Genetic Diversity of High and Low Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Algerian <i>Aegilops geniculata</i>

Abstract

Aegilops geniculata Roth is an annual grass relative to cultivated wheat and is widely distributed in North Algeria. Endosperm storage proteins of wheat and its relatives, namely glutenins and gliadins, play an important role in dough properties and bread making quality. In the present study, the different alleles encoded at the four glutenin loci (Glu-M1, Glu-U1, Glu-M3 and Glu-U3) were identified from thirty five accessions of the tetraploid wild wheat A. geniculata collected in Algeria using Sodium dodecyl Sulfate -Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). At Glu-M1 and Glu-U1 loci, encoding high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS) or A-subunits, 15 and 12 alleles were observed respectively, including one new subunit. B-Low molecular weight glutenin subunits zone (B-LMW-GS) displayed a far greater variation, as 28 and 25 alleles were identified at loci Glu-M3 and Glu-U3 respectively. Thirty two subunits patterns were revealed at the C subunits-zone and a total of thirty four patterns resulted from the genetic combination of the two zones (B-and C-zone). The wide range of glutenin subunits variation (high molecular weight glutenin subunits and low molecular weight glutenin subunits) in this species has the potential to enhance the genetic variability for improving the quality of wheat.