Marker-assisted breeding of a durum wheat cultivar for gamma-gliadin and LMW-glutenin proteins affecting pasta quality

The pasta quality of durum wheat is one of the most important properties for the industry and consumers. Therefore, breeding for improved grain quality without yield penalties, using modern breeding methods, has been a primary objective in durum wheat breeding programs in recent years. In this study, 2 important gene regions that encode pasta-quality associated proteins (gamma-gliadin 45 and LMW-2 glutenin) were transferred to a registered Turkish durum wheat variety, Saricanak-98, from a high-quality Canadian durum wheat cultivar, Kyle, through a marker-assisted backcross breeding method. Each of the F1 and backcross (BC) plants were backcrossed 4 times to the recurrent parent, and the backcrossed plants carrying the targeted gene regions in all generations were selected by marker-assisted selection (MAS). DNA markers in combination with A-PAGE were used for tracking the introgression of the targeted gene regions. Transfer of Gli-B1 locus encoding gamma-gliadin 45 and Glu-B3 locus encoding LMW-2 glutenin to the wheat variety Saricanak-98 led to a considerable increase in protein content and gluten quality.