Associations between electrophoretic composition of proteins, quality characteristics and agronomic attributes of durum wheats II. Protein-quality associations

Ninety-five durum wheat genotypes were analysed in terms of the electrophoretic compositions of their gliadin proteins (PAGE) and total reduced proteins (SDS-PAGE): the proportions of each component were determined by densitometric scanning of the stained gels. The data were analysed statistically to identify associations between gliadins or glutenin subunits and both technological and agronomic attributes. The results confirmed that the most effective associations for predicting useful breeding traits were those between LMW-glutenin subunits, or γ-gliadins ‘42’ or ‘45’, and the viscoelastic characteristics of gluten. However, some other α- or β-gliadin allelic types with minor effects were identified. Several technological traits (other than cooking quality) and several agronomic attributes were found to be associated with specific gliadin or glutenin components. The exact nature of these associations remains to be clarified and eventual genetic linkages determined, but in the meantime these new markers may help further to improve durum wheat breeding methodology.