Recovery of Wheat Heritage for Traditional Food: Genetic Variation for High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Neglected/Underutilized Wheat

Club wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. compactum (Host) Mackey), macha wheat (T. aestivum L. ssp. macha (Dekapr. & A.M. Menabde) Mackey) and Indian dwarf wheat (T. aestivum L. ssp. sphaerococcum (Percival) Mackey) are three neglected or underutilized subspecies of hexaploid wheat. These materials were and are used to elaborate modern and traditional products, and they could be useful in the revival of traditional foods. Gluten proteins are the main grain components defining end-use quality. The high molecular weight glutenin subunit compositions of 55 accessions of club wheat, 29 accessions of macha wheat, and 26 accessions of Indian dwarf wheat were analyzed using SDS-PAGE. Three alleles for the Glu-A1 locus, 15 for Glu-B1 (four not previously described), and four for Glu-D1 were detected. Their polymorphisms could be a source of genes for quality improvement in common wheat, which would permit both their recovery as new crops and development of modern cultivars with similar quality characteristics but better agronomic traits.