GENEALOGICAL IDENTIFICATION OF HEXAPLOID TRITORDEUM BY ELECTROPHORETIC SEPARATION OF ENDOSPERM STORAGE PROTEINS

Hexaploid Tritordeum (x Tritordeum Ascherson et Graebner) has been analyzed by SDS-PAGE, to test the efficiency of the method for confirming the parents of different lines, and for unequivocally discriminating between the lines. The results clearly show that endosperm storage proteins from both parents (durum wheat - Triticum turgidum conv. durum Desf. em. M.K. - and Hordeum chilense Roem. et Schulz.) are expressed in the endosperm of the amphiploid between them. Although the spectra of proteins from the parental species overlap on the gel, there are sufficient number of bands with distinct electrophoretic mobilities to identify unambiguously their parental origin. Furthermore, in the six lines of tritordeum analyzed, obtained from crosses between three accessions of H. chilense and four cultivars or lines of wheat, there was sufficient polymorphism amongst the parents, particularly amongst the H. chilense accessions, to enable both aims of the project to be met, that is, to confirm the genealogy of each tritordeum, and to discriminate between different lines. This study provides the basis of future investigation on the relationship between bread-making quality in tritordeum and the allelic composition of storage proteins.