Elymus nutans was screened for puroindoline genes to look for allelic variants. Study of puroindoline genes in Elymus species

The puroindoline genes located at the Ha locus on chromosome 5D of bread wheat are now considered to be the most important determinant of grain hardness. Two diploids (Agropyron species), four tetraploid (Elymus species), five hexaploid (Elymus and Agropyron species) and close relatives were studied at the sequence level to identify novel variation in Pin genes and proteins which could be exploited in the improvement of cultivated wheat. This study focussed mainly on screening for the three Pin (Pina, Pinb and Pinb-2) genes. In all the species screened there were some differences in the frequency of distribution of all three genes. A novel sequence for the Pina gene was detected in Elymus burchan-buddae, Elymus dahuricus subsp. excelsus and Elymus nutans. New Pin b sequences was detected in Elymus burchan-buddae, Elymus dahuricus subsp. excelsus, and Elymus nutans. A novel Pinb-2 variant was also detected for Agropyron repens and Elymus repens. The putative proteins detected all showed important changes at the tryptophan-rich domain as well as changes and/or deletions of basic and hydrophobic residues for all species screened. The data presented highlights the sequence diversity of this important gene family and its putative influence in determining grain texture and end use products.