Identification of barley cultivars using SDS-PAGE electrophoresis

Abstract

Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was applied to cultivar identification. Three different extractions methods were used to extract and fractionate the seed storage protein subunits from crushed single seeds of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Fifty-four genotypes including breeding lines and released cultivars were analysed and grouped according to the variation found in their protein banding patterns. In the first extraction, eight genotypes showed unique hordein subunit composition whilst remainder fell into 11 groups of 2 to 8. The other two extractions were carried out to characterize those genotypes producing identical banding patterns when using the first method. Relative mobility (REM) values for hordein bands were determined. Genetic background was found to strongly effect the determination of hordein composition of barley genotypes. Those genotypes with largely common ancestry showed often similar hordein composition and were difficult to identify whereas genotypes possessing unique hordein banding patterns had clearly exceptional pedigree. The effect of the row-type on hordein banding pattern was not clear as both two-row and many-row barleys were found to produce identical patterns. Intra-cultivar hordein polymorfism was found in three cultivars.