Associations between individual gliadin proteins and quality, agronomic and morphological attributes of wheat cultivars

Abstract

The gliadin protein compositions of 79 wheat genotypes from Australia, New Zealand and North America, and one rye cultivar have been examined by starch gel electrophoresis. Interrelationships in the patterns thus obtained were investigated using a computer-generated inverse minimum spanning tree. Certain components were frequently found to occur together, presumably because their synthesis is controlled by closely linked genes. In addition, by using a network-generating program, associations between gliadins and many morphological (plant, head and grain), agronomic and quality attributes were studied. In many cases, specific gliadin components were found to be closely associated with certain attributes. In such cases a direct cause and effect cannot be inferred, but the approach indicates associations that warrant further study.