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Title: DIFFERENCES AMONG GLIADINS FROM SPRING AND WINTER WHEAT CULTIVARS

Author
item Huebner, Floyd
item NELSEN TERRY C - 3620-01-00
item Bietz, Jerold

Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/5/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Gliadin storage proteins from many U.S. hard red spring and winter wheats were studied by high-performance liquid chromatography in search of significant differences between these wheat classes. There was much variation among individual wheat varieties. When data for varieties of each class were averaged, however, we found no significant differences in gliadin composition between the classes. Results suggest that differences in protein amount, rather than type, contribute most to the perceived better quality of hard red spring wheats.

Technical Abstract: Accurate and reliable classification of U.S. hard red spring (HRS) and hard red winter (HRW) wheats is necessary in marketing. Such classification is difficult, however, since many varieties are grown and since kernels of many varieties, even of different classes, may have similar phenotypes. Some studies suggest that HRS wheats contain more of the most hydrophobic gliadins than do HRW wheats. We used reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography to quantitatively analyze gliadins from HRS and HRW wheats. Diversity among varieties was large, but statistical analyses revealed significant differences for certain gliadins. However, in disagreement with previous reports, no significant difference was found in the amount of the latest-eluting gliadin proteins from either the HRS or HRW wheats. When HRS wheats were grown in California and Arizona as winter wheats, the total protein was less and the gliadin compositions resembled those of HRW wheats grown in the usual HRW growing region. These results suggest that quantitative differences in protein compositions of HRS and HRW wheats are more due to genetic and environmental than to true class differences.