ABSTRACT
Interest in so-called ancient wheats (einkorn, emmer, oriental wheat, and spelt) has increased steadily in the last few decades. Oriental wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. turanicum (Jakubz.) (A. Lőve & D. Lőve) is a neglected and underutilized tetraploid species that has survived over the centuries in some areas of the Near East and central Asia. Very little attention has been devoted by researchers to the evaluation and characterization of the oriental wheat germplasm. Knowledge of the variation of seed storage proteins within a germplasm collection is very useful for breeders interested in increasing the genetic bases of modern wheat cultivars. In this study, capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) was used to analyze the gliadin and albumin extracts relative to 74 accessions belonging to the oriental wheat collection maintained at the USDA gene bank. Fourteen gliadin patterns were observed. Among the six most frequent patterns, one was widely predominant, being observed in 29 accessions, whereas eight were single types. Two profiles showing similar frequencies within the collection together with six single types were recognized for the albumins. The combination of the observed gliadin and albumin profiles gave rise to 25 combinations. In general, accessions collected in the same country shared the same combinations. This suggests that some accessions could be duplicates of the same genetic stock. Accessions collected in Iran and Turkey, which are indicated as the countries in which oriental wheat originated, were characterized by a higher degree of polymorphism.
