Widening glutenin subunit diversity in durum wheat

Different approaches have been undertaken to enlarge genetic variation for glutenin subunit composi­tion in durum wheat. In particular, novel allelic glutenin subunit combinations at the Glu-3 and Glu-1 loci have been transferred from cultivated or wild wheat relatives into currently grown Italian durum wheat cultivars. Additionally, using chromosome engineering, segments carrying the bread wheat Glu-Dl or Glu-D3 loci, encoding for high molecular weight- and the low molecular weight-glutenin subunits, were incorporated into the chromosome lA of durum wheat cultivar Svevo. Biochemical and rheological data indicate superior quality characteristics associated with some of the lines obtained.