Different mechanisms control lipoxygenase activity in durum wheat kernels

Yellow pigment content (YPC), lipoxygenase (LPX) activity and the polymorphism at the Lpx-B1.1 locus were assessed on an Italian durum wheat germplasm collection and four varieties contrasting for YPC and LPX activity were then characterized in terms of Lpx gene expression, biochemical LPX properties and their performance during pasta processing. The screening of 71 genotypes showed a great genetic variability for YPC (3.68–9.43 μg/g dw) and LPX activity (0.02–7.91 EU/g dw). The Lpx-B1.1 polymorphism was significantly associated with differences in LPX activity. Besides the Lpx-B1.1 deletion, different expression levels of Lpx mRNAs were found associated with differences in LPX activity. The temporal expression of three Lpx genes showed different profiles among the cultivars investigated. Genotypes with high LPX activity showed an anticipated temporal expression for Lpx-1 compared to low LPX activity ones. The LPX activity in the analysed genotypes is most likely due to the contribution of different LPX isoforms observed in the later stage of grain filling.