Development and gluten strength evaluation of introgression lines of Triticum urartu in durum wheat

Triticum urartu has been identified as donor of A genome in the polyploid wheats. An amphiploid derived from the cross between one accession of T. urartu , carrying 1Ax + Ay high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, and durum wheat cv. Yavaros has been synthesised and used as a bridge species to transfer genetic material from the wild to the cultivated wheat. Some quality traits were evaluated in twenty durum lines derived from this amphiploid after backcrossing to durum. All lines were selected for the presence of 1Ax + Ay but maintaining two different patterns for the low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits and grain colour. The lines with red grain showed higher pigment content than those with yellow grain. In addition, the former lines present higher gluten strength than the latter ones.