Cereal Chem 65:408-412   |  VIEW ARTICLE

Statistical Relationships Between High Molecular Weight Subunits of Glutenin and Breadmaking Quality of Canadian-Grown Wheats.

P. K. W. Ng and W. Bushuk. Copyright 1988 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

The relationship between the presence or absence of certain high molecular weight (HMW) subunits of glutenin and breadmaking potential was investigated using 26 diverse bread wheat varieties grown in Canada. Subunit composition was determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS-PAGE), and the subunits were identified by their relative molecular weights in kilodaltons (kDa). Thirteen different subunits were observed in the 26 varieties. The main criterion of baking quality was the baking strength index. We found that high-quality varieties have a predominance of specific subunits. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to generate the prediction equation for baking strength index from eight HMW subunits in the range of 96.3 to 147.4 kDa (r2 = 0.675; P less 0.01). For a different set of eight varieties, the predicted values agreed with actual values within the 95% confidence limit. These findings indicate that selection on the basis of HMW subunit composition should be useful in breeding programs for screening genotypes for breadmaking quality.