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

The 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.