Molecular characterization of storage proteins for selected durum wheat varieties grown in different environments

The variations of the amounts of individual high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS), of the ratios HMW-GSy to HMW-GSx and HMW-GS to low molecular weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) and of protein content were evaluated for eight durum wheat cultivars in two regions using four fertilizer combinations during two successive years. All measured parameters showed significant variation with genotypes (G), environments (E) and fertilizers (F). The interaction E × G × F was highly significant for glutenin amount variation. Amongst cultivars possessing HMW-GS 20, landraces seem to better value the N-fertilizer use for the accumulation of HMW-GSy than high yielding cultivars. Both HMW-GSy to HMW-GSx and HMW-GS to LMW-GS ratios were found to be positively correlated (p < 0.05) with total protein content.