Characterization of spelt (Triticum spelta L.) forms by gel-electrophoretic analyses of seed storage proteins. II. The glutenins

Seed proteins of 28 spelt cultivars (Triticum spelta L.), 16 cross combinations between spelt forms or between spelt and English winter wheat cultivars, and ten winter wheat varieties (Triticum aestivum L.) were analysed by SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate)-PAGE (polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis). Different wheat types were chosen for distinct purposes: five popular German wheat cultivars were used for a comparison of wheat and spelt protein band patterns, two of them are old varieties ('Kanzler' and 'Jubilar') and one is a modern wheat standard ('Orestis'); five English winter wheat varieties with short straw were used for the crosses with spelt cultivars to improve seed yield and especially the lodging resistance of spelt. The objectives of these studies were the adaptation of existing SDS-PAGE methods, which have been successfully applied in other crops, for the analysis of seed proteins in spelt, and the characterization and differentiation of spelt varieties from corresponding cross combinations with other spelt forms or with winter wheat cultivars using gel-electrophoretic methods (SDS-PAGE). Considerable differences in protein band patterns were found between spelt and winter wheat varieties, especially in three distinct lanes of the electropherogrammes where the molecular weights range from 40 to 49, 53 to 62 and 74 to 115 kDa. Spelt cross combinations. and especially crosses between spelt and winter wheat cultivars, were easily distinguishable particularly after a preceding extraction in chlorethanol.