Decrease of Waxy (Wx) Protein in Two Common Wheat Cultivars with Low Amylose Content

Two cultivars with a low amylose content, Kanto107 (K107) and K79, were discovered in Japanese common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The amount of Wx protein, identified as a single major starch granule-bound protein of about 61 kD by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), was greatly decreased in those two cultivars. Analysis of their Wx protein with a modified SDS-PAGE and two dimensional-PAGE showed that two of the three Wx proteins, produced by Wx-A1 and Wx-B1 loci, were not detected. It was thus concluded that only one locus, Wx-D1, was active in the two low amylose cultivars. These mutants were termed “partial waxy mutants” and considered to be very useful material for breeding waxy wheat.