Cloning and characterization of high molecular weight glutenin gene from Triticum aestivum cultivar Dacke

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background:</strong> High molecular weight (HMW) glutenin protein plays a crucial role in determining dough viscoelastic properties that determines the quality of wheat flour. The aim of the present study was to isolate, clone and analyze (<em>in silico</em>) the HMW glutenin gene of <em>Triticum aestivum</em> cultivar Dacke.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> Primers were designed to amplify a 2445 bp fragment of HMW glutenin gene. Ax type HMW glutenin gene from <em>Triticum aestivum</em> cultivar Dacke was isolated using PCR and it was sequenced by primer walking.  </p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Amplified HMW glutenin gene was designated as HMWGAx. Sequence analysis revealed a complete open reading frame encoding 815 amino acid residues with N- and C terminal non-repetitive domain and a central repetitive domain. The calculated molecular weight of the deduced HMW glutenin protein was ~88 kDa and the number of cysteine residues in the HMWGAx was four, in accordance with other x type HMW glutenin proteins. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 100% homology to the previously studied Ax2* type HMW glutenin gene from cultivar Cheyenne. Predicted secondary structure results showed that it was similar to1Ax1 type of common wheat (<em>Triticum aestivum</em>), having superior flour milling quality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Sequence analysis suggests that HMWGAx protein significantly and positively correlates with the properties of elasticity and extensibility of gluten. </p>