Research Article
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Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality

Year 2026, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 46 - 52, 01.02.2026
https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF

Abstract

This study aimed at providing a predictive assessment of bread-making quality of 25 Indian bread wheat genotypes and the
German variety Bussard based on the characterization of their established high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunits
quality scores using SDS-PAGE, without direct rheological or baking validation. HMW glutenin subunits at the Glu-A1,
Glu-B1, and Glu-D1 loci were identified and classified, and Glu-1 quality scores (1-10 scale) were calculated based on
SDS-sedimentation associations. High-molecular-weight glutenin profiles were used to compute similarity indices and
construct a dendrogram using Genstat. The genotypes Bussard, C-591, C-306, and WH-533 exhibited the highest Glu-1
quality scores, associated with favourable alleles such as Glu‑D1 (5+10) and Glu‑A1 (1 or 2*) in combination with Glu‑B1
(7+8 or 7+9), conferring association with superior dough strength and bread-making quality. Genetic similarity coefficients
among the 26 genotypes ranged from 0.53 to 1.00, and the dendrogram separated them into two major clusters, each
with two sub-clusters; C-591 and C-306 grouped in SG2b, whereas WH-533 and Bussard clustered in SG1a. The genetic
similarity in glutenin composition, based on the clustering, indicates the quality potential of bread wheat cultivars without
measuring the functional performance.

References

  • Abedi, E., & Pourmohammadi, K. (2021). Physical modifications of wheat gluten protein: An extensive review. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 44(3), e13619. https://doi. org/10.1111/jfpe.13619
  • Bhagwat, S. G. and Bhatia, C. R. (1993). Selection for quality in early generation based on HMW subunits of glutenin in breadwheat. Indian Journal of Genetics., 53(2): 208- 214.
  • Bedo, Z., Karpati, M., Vida, G., Kramarik, J., Kissimon, L., & Lang, L. (1995). Good bread-making quality wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes with 2+12 subunit composition at the Glu-D1 locus. Cereal Research Communications, 23(3), 283-291.
  • Coventry, D. R., Gupta, R. K., Yadav, A., Poswal, R. S., Chhokar, R. S., Sharma, R. K., Yadav, V. K., Gill, S. C., Kumar, A., Mehta, A., &
  • Kleemann, S. G. L. (2011). Wheat quality and productivity as affected by varieties and sowing time in Haryana, India. Field Crops Research, 123(3), 214-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. fcr.2011.05.016
  • Galova, Z., Michalik, I., Knoblochova, H., & Gregova, E. (2002). Variation in HMW glutenin subunits of different species of wheat. Rostlinna Vyroba, 48(1), 15-19.
  • Goel, S., Rathore, M., Grewal, S., Jain, N., Singh, B. K., Ahlawat, A. K., Anju, M. S., Pradeep, K. S., & Nagendra, K. S. (2015). Effect of allelic variation in triticin on bread-and chapati-making qualities of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Agricultural Research, 4(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s40003-015-0150-1
  • Igrejas, G., Guedes-Pinto, H., Carnide, V., & Branlard, G. (1999). The high and low molecular weight glutenin subunits and $\omega$-gliadin composition of bread and durum wheats commonly grown in Portugal. Plant Breeding, 118(4), 297-302.
  • Islam, S., Yu, Z., She, M., Zhao, Y., & Ma, W. (2019). Wheat gluten protein and its impacts on wheat processing quality. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 6(3), 279-287. https:// doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2019267
  • Ivanov, P., Ivan, T., Ivanka, S., & Irina, I. (1998). Storage proteins characterization of a group of new Bulgarian high bread-making quality wheat lines. Cereal Research Communications, 26(4), 447-453.
  • Jain, P., Behl, R. K., Saini, M. L., & Nimbal, S. (2002). Improvement of grain protein quality in wheat. National Journal of Plant Improvement, 4, 1-8. Jang, Y. R., Kim, S., Sim, J. R., Lee, S. B., Lim, S. H., Kang, C. S., Choi, C., Goo, T. W., & Lee,
  • J. Y. (2021). High-throughput analysis of highmolecular weight glutenin subunits in 665 wheat genotypes using an optimized MALDI-TOF-MS method. 3 Biotech, 11, Article 92. https://doi. org/10.1007/s13205-020-02637-z
  • Khalid, A., Hameed, A., & Tahir, M. F. (2023). Wheat quality: A review on chemical composition, nutritional attributes, grain anatomy, types, classification, and function of seed storage proteins in bread-making quality. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, Article 1053196. https://doi. org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1053196
  • Li, Y., Fu, J., Shen, Q., & Yang, D. (2021). High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits: Genetics, structures, and relation to end use qualities. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(1), 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijms22010184
  • Lukow, O. M., Payne, P. I., & Tkachuk, R. (1989). The HMW glutenin subunit composition of Canadian wheat cultivars and their association with breadmaking quality. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 46(4), 451-460.
  • Michel, S., Kummer, C., Gallee, M., Hellinger, J., Ametz, C., Akgöl, B., Epure, D., Löschenberger, F., & Buerstmayr, H. (2018). Improving the baking quality of bread wheat by genomic selection in early generations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 131(2), 477-493. https://doi. org/10.1007/s00122-017-3013-4
  • Nimbal, S., Behl, R. K., & Chhabra, A. K. (2010). Allelic variation in high molecular weight glutenin subunit loci, Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 in Indian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The IUP Journal of Genetics and Evolution, 3(3), 53-60.
  • Nimbal, S., Behl, R. K., & Chhabra, A. K. (2017). Study on genotypic differences for high molecular weight subunits of Indian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Journal of Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding, 1(1), 28-31.
  • Nuttall, J. G., O’Leary, G. J., Panozzo, J. F., Walker, C. K., Barlow, K. M., & Fitzgerald, G. J. (2017). Models of grain quality in wheat - A review. Field Crops Research, 202, 136-145. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.12.011
  • Omogbolahan, S. I., David, O. I., Samuel, O. O., & Emmanuel, M. (2025). Optimizing SDSPAGE for accurate protein characterization in nutritional research and food quality assessment. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 10, 1008-1045. https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.14744563
  • Pal, B. P. (1966). Wheat. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
  • Payne, P. I., & Lawrence, G. J. (1983). Catalogue of alleles for the complex gene loci, Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 which code for the high molecular weight subunits of glutenin in hexaploid wheat. Cereal Research Communications, 11(1), 29-35.
  • Payne, P. I., Nightingale, M. A., Kratiger, A. F., & Holt, L. M. (1987). The relationship between HMW glutenin subunit composition and the bread-making quality of British grown wheat varieties. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 40(1), 51-65.
  • Rogers, W. J., Payne, P. I., & Harinder, K. (1989). The HMW glutenin subunit and gliadin composition of German grown wheat varieties and their relationship with bread-making quality. Plant Breeding, 103(2), 89-100.
  • Sharma, A., Garg, S., Sheikh, I., Vyas, P., & Dhaliwal, H. S. (2020). Effect of wheat grain protein composition on end-use quality. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 57, 2771-2785. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04311-w
  • Shewry, P. (2023). Wheat grain proteins: Past, present and future. Cereal Chemistry, 100(1), 9-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10585
  • Shitre, S., Bakshi, S., Gadekar, D. A., Padhye, A. P., & Das, B. K. (2016). Characterization of high molecular weight glutenin subunits of wheat genotypes. Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding, 7(2), 282-290.
  • Siddiqi, R. A., Singh, T. P., Rani, M., Sogi, D. S., & Bhat, M. A. (2020). Diversity in grain, flour, amino acid composition, protein profiling, and proportion of total flour proteins of different wheat cultivars of North India. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7, Article 141. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnut.2020.00141
  • Sontag-Strohm, T. (1996). Rapid communication: Electrophoretic fractionation of wheat glutenin subunits after removal of gliadins by reversed SDS-PAGE. Journal of Cereal Science, 24(1), 87-91.
  • Tohver, M., Koppel, R., & Ingver, A. (2001). Characterization of gliadin and HMW glutenin subunit alleles and their relation to breadmaking quality in common spring wheat cultivars and breeding lines. Cereal Research Communications, 29(3), 405-412.
  • Wang, X., Song, R., An, Y., Pei, H., Gao, S., Sun, D., & Ren, X. (2022). Allelic variation and genetic diversity of HMW glutenin subunits in Chinese wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landraces and commercial cultivars. Breeding Science, 72(2), 169-180. https://doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs.21076
  • Yunus, M., & Srivastava, R. B. (1994). Wheat improvement. Department of Plant Breeding, CCS Haryana Agricultural University.
  • Zhang, Y. R., Ni, Z. F., Liang, R. Q., Li, J. G., & Li, B. Y. (2001). Compositions of high molecular weight glutenin subunits in synthesized hexaploid wheat introduced from CIMMYT. Journal of China Agricultural University, 6, 38-43.

Year 2026, Volume: 12 Issue: 1, 46 - 52, 01.02.2026
https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF

Abstract

References

  • Abedi, E., & Pourmohammadi, K. (2021). Physical modifications of wheat gluten protein: An extensive review. Journal of Food Process Engineering, 44(3), e13619. https://doi. org/10.1111/jfpe.13619
  • Bhagwat, S. G. and Bhatia, C. R. (1993). Selection for quality in early generation based on HMW subunits of glutenin in breadwheat. Indian Journal of Genetics., 53(2): 208- 214.
  • Bedo, Z., Karpati, M., Vida, G., Kramarik, J., Kissimon, L., & Lang, L. (1995). Good bread-making quality wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes with 2+12 subunit composition at the Glu-D1 locus. Cereal Research Communications, 23(3), 283-291.
  • Coventry, D. R., Gupta, R. K., Yadav, A., Poswal, R. S., Chhokar, R. S., Sharma, R. K., Yadav, V. K., Gill, S. C., Kumar, A., Mehta, A., &
  • Kleemann, S. G. L. (2011). Wheat quality and productivity as affected by varieties and sowing time in Haryana, India. Field Crops Research, 123(3), 214-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. fcr.2011.05.016
  • Galova, Z., Michalik, I., Knoblochova, H., & Gregova, E. (2002). Variation in HMW glutenin subunits of different species of wheat. Rostlinna Vyroba, 48(1), 15-19.
  • Goel, S., Rathore, M., Grewal, S., Jain, N., Singh, B. K., Ahlawat, A. K., Anju, M. S., Pradeep, K. S., & Nagendra, K. S. (2015). Effect of allelic variation in triticin on bread-and chapati-making qualities of wheat (Triticum aestivum). Agricultural Research, 4(2), 139-151. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s40003-015-0150-1
  • Igrejas, G., Guedes-Pinto, H., Carnide, V., & Branlard, G. (1999). The high and low molecular weight glutenin subunits and $\omega$-gliadin composition of bread and durum wheats commonly grown in Portugal. Plant Breeding, 118(4), 297-302.
  • Islam, S., Yu, Z., She, M., Zhao, Y., & Ma, W. (2019). Wheat gluten protein and its impacts on wheat processing quality. Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering, 6(3), 279-287. https:// doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2019267
  • Ivanov, P., Ivan, T., Ivanka, S., & Irina, I. (1998). Storage proteins characterization of a group of new Bulgarian high bread-making quality wheat lines. Cereal Research Communications, 26(4), 447-453.
  • Jain, P., Behl, R. K., Saini, M. L., & Nimbal, S. (2002). Improvement of grain protein quality in wheat. National Journal of Plant Improvement, 4, 1-8. Jang, Y. R., Kim, S., Sim, J. R., Lee, S. B., Lim, S. H., Kang, C. S., Choi, C., Goo, T. W., & Lee,
  • J. Y. (2021). High-throughput analysis of highmolecular weight glutenin subunits in 665 wheat genotypes using an optimized MALDI-TOF-MS method. 3 Biotech, 11, Article 92. https://doi. org/10.1007/s13205-020-02637-z
  • Khalid, A., Hameed, A., & Tahir, M. F. (2023). Wheat quality: A review on chemical composition, nutritional attributes, grain anatomy, types, classification, and function of seed storage proteins in bread-making quality. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, Article 1053196. https://doi. org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1053196
  • Li, Y., Fu, J., Shen, Q., & Yang, D. (2021). High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits: Genetics, structures, and relation to end use qualities. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(1), 184. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijms22010184
  • Lukow, O. M., Payne, P. I., & Tkachuk, R. (1989). The HMW glutenin subunit composition of Canadian wheat cultivars and their association with breadmaking quality. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 46(4), 451-460.
  • Michel, S., Kummer, C., Gallee, M., Hellinger, J., Ametz, C., Akgöl, B., Epure, D., Löschenberger, F., & Buerstmayr, H. (2018). Improving the baking quality of bread wheat by genomic selection in early generations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 131(2), 477-493. https://doi. org/10.1007/s00122-017-3013-4
  • Nimbal, S., Behl, R. K., & Chhabra, A. K. (2010). Allelic variation in high molecular weight glutenin subunit loci, Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 in Indian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The IUP Journal of Genetics and Evolution, 3(3), 53-60.
  • Nimbal, S., Behl, R. K., & Chhabra, A. K. (2017). Study on genotypic differences for high molecular weight subunits of Indian bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Journal of Genetics, Genomics and Plant Breeding, 1(1), 28-31.
  • Nuttall, J. G., O’Leary, G. J., Panozzo, J. F., Walker, C. K., Barlow, K. M., & Fitzgerald, G. J. (2017). Models of grain quality in wheat - A review. Field Crops Research, 202, 136-145. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.fcr.2015.12.011
  • Omogbolahan, S. I., David, O. I., Samuel, O. O., & Emmanuel, M. (2025). Optimizing SDSPAGE for accurate protein characterization in nutritional research and food quality assessment. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 10, 1008-1045. https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.14744563
  • Pal, B. P. (1966). Wheat. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
  • Payne, P. I., & Lawrence, G. J. (1983). Catalogue of alleles for the complex gene loci, Glu-A1, Glu-B1 and Glu-D1 which code for the high molecular weight subunits of glutenin in hexaploid wheat. Cereal Research Communications, 11(1), 29-35.
  • Payne, P. I., Nightingale, M. A., Kratiger, A. F., & Holt, L. M. (1987). The relationship between HMW glutenin subunit composition and the bread-making quality of British grown wheat varieties. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 40(1), 51-65.
  • Rogers, W. J., Payne, P. I., & Harinder, K. (1989). The HMW glutenin subunit and gliadin composition of German grown wheat varieties and their relationship with bread-making quality. Plant Breeding, 103(2), 89-100.
  • Sharma, A., Garg, S., Sheikh, I., Vyas, P., & Dhaliwal, H. S. (2020). Effect of wheat grain protein composition on end-use quality. Journal of Food Science and Technology, 57, 2771-2785. https:// doi.org/10.1007/s13197-020-04311-w
  • Shewry, P. (2023). Wheat grain proteins: Past, present and future. Cereal Chemistry, 100(1), 9-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10585
  • Shitre, S., Bakshi, S., Gadekar, D. A., Padhye, A. P., & Das, B. K. (2016). Characterization of high molecular weight glutenin subunits of wheat genotypes. Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding, 7(2), 282-290.
  • Siddiqi, R. A., Singh, T. P., Rani, M., Sogi, D. S., & Bhat, M. A. (2020). Diversity in grain, flour, amino acid composition, protein profiling, and proportion of total flour proteins of different wheat cultivars of North India. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7, Article 141. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fnut.2020.00141
  • Sontag-Strohm, T. (1996). Rapid communication: Electrophoretic fractionation of wheat glutenin subunits after removal of gliadins by reversed SDS-PAGE. Journal of Cereal Science, 24(1), 87-91.
  • Tohver, M., Koppel, R., & Ingver, A. (2001). Characterization of gliadin and HMW glutenin subunit alleles and their relation to breadmaking quality in common spring wheat cultivars and breeding lines. Cereal Research Communications, 29(3), 405-412.
  • Wang, X., Song, R., An, Y., Pei, H., Gao, S., Sun, D., & Ren, X. (2022). Allelic variation and genetic diversity of HMW glutenin subunits in Chinese wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landraces and commercial cultivars. Breeding Science, 72(2), 169-180. https://doi.org/10.1270/jsbbs.21076
  • Yunus, M., & Srivastava, R. B. (1994). Wheat improvement. Department of Plant Breeding, CCS Haryana Agricultural University.
  • Zhang, Y. R., Ni, Z. F., Liang, R. Q., Li, J. G., & Li, B. Y. (2001). Compositions of high molecular weight glutenin subunits in synthesized hexaploid wheat introduced from CIMMYT. Journal of China Agricultural University, 6, 38-43.
There are 33 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Agronomy
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Rishi Kumar Behl This is me

Arushi Padiyal

Ebrahim Kazmann This is me

Mini Narwal This is me

Sombir Nimbal This is me

Ashok Kumar Chhabra This is me

Submission Date December 14, 2025
Acceptance Date January 28, 2026
Publication Date February 1, 2026
IZ https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF
Published in Issue Year 2026 Volume: 12 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Behl, R. K., Padiyal, A., Kazmann, E., Narwal, M., Nimbal, S., & Chhabra, A. K. (2026). Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality. Ekin Journal of Crop Breeding and Genetics, 12(1), 46-52. https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF
AMA 1.Behl RK, Padiyal A, Kazmann E, Narwal M, Nimbal S, Chhabra AK. Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality. Ekin Journal. 2026;12(1):46-52. https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF
Chicago Behl, Rishi Kumar, Arushi Padiyal, Ebrahim Kazmann, Mini Narwal, Sombir Nimbal, and Ashok Kumar Chhabra. 2026. “Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality”. Ekin Journal of Crop Breeding and Genetics 12 (1): 46-52. https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF.
EndNote Behl RK, Padiyal A, Kazmann E, Narwal M, Nimbal S, Chhabra AK (February 1, 2026) Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality. Ekin Journal of Crop Breeding and Genetics 12 1 46–52.
IEEE [1]R. K. Behl, A. Padiyal, E. Kazmann, M. Narwal, S. Nimbal, and A. K. Chhabra, “Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality”, Ekin Journal, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 46–52, Feb. 2026, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF
ISNAD Behl, Rishi Kumar - Padiyal, Arushi - Kazmann, Ebrahim - Narwal, Mini - Nimbal, Sombir - Chhabra, Ashok Kumar. “Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality”. Ekin Journal of Crop Breeding and Genetics 12/1 (February 1, 2026): 46-52. https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF.
JAMA 1.Behl RK, Padiyal A, Kazmann E, Narwal M, Nimbal S, Chhabra AK. Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality. Ekin Journal. 2026;12:46–52.
MLA Behl, Rishi Kumar, et al. “Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality”. Ekin Journal of Crop Breeding and Genetics, vol. 12, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 46-52, https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF.
Vancouver 1.Behl RK, Padiyal A, Kazmann E, Narwal M, Nimbal S, Chhabra AK. Predictive Genetic Profiling of High Molecular Weight Glutenin Subunits in Indian Wheat Varieties for Bread-Making Quality. Ekin Journal [Internet]. 2026 Feb. 1;12(1):46-52. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA69LF95YF