小伞山羊草高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基及其基因的鉴定

运用SDS_PAGE和分子克隆技术 ,对小伞山羊草 (Aegilopsumbellulata ,UU ,2n =2x =14)的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基 (1Ux ,1Uy)及其编码基因进行了鉴定。SDS_PAGE分析表明小伞山羊草不同基因型中的 1Ux的电泳迁移率接近或慢于普通小麦 1Dx2 .2亚基的电泳迁移率 ,1Uy亚基的电泳迁移率一般接近或慢于普通小麦的 1Dy类亚基。采用PCR扩增技术获得了 1Ux和 1Uy亚基编码基因的全长编码区 ,并对一个 1Uy基因的全长编码区进行了全序列测定。对推导的氨基酸序列进行比较发现 1Ux和 1Uy亚基具有与来自于其他物种的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基一致的一级结构 ,聚类分析显示 1Ux和 1Uy亚基与D基因组编码的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基在起源和进化上具有较高的相似性。     

Allelic variation at high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit loci in Aegilops biuncialis Vis

Alleles at the high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit loci Glu-U1 and Glu-M(b)1 were analyzed in the tetraploid species Aegilops biuncialis (UUM(b)M(b)). The material for the investigation included the collection of 39 accessions of Ae. biuncialis from Ukraine (the Crimea), one Hellenic accession, one accession of unknown origin, F2 seeds from different crosses, as well as samples from natural populations from the Crimea. Ae. umbellulata and Ae. comosa accessions were used to allocate components of the HMW glutenin subunit patterns of Ae. biuncialis to U or M(b) genomes. Eight alleles were identified at the Glu-U1 locus and ten alleles were revealed at the Glu-M(b) 1 locus. Among alleles at the Glu-M(b) 1 locus ofAe. biuncialis there were two alleles controlling the y-type subunit only and one allele encoding the x-subunit only.     

High-Molecular-Weight Glutenin Subunit Genesin in Decaploid Agropyron elongatum

Seven genes encoding glutenin subunits that present in Agropyron elongatum (Host) Nevski were cloned by PCR analysis and named AgeloG1 to AgeloG7. The complete open reading frames (ORFs) of the seven genes were amplified with primers special for high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunit genes and subsequently cloned and sequenced. Five of them were completely sequenced, and the other two (AgeloG1 and AgeloG4) were sequenced at the two ends only. Comparison of amino acid sequences suggested that the primary structure of the subunits encoded by the seven genes was very similar to that of y-type HMW glutenin subunits published from wheat, though four of them (AgeloG4, AgeloG5, AgeloG6 and AgeloG7) were shorter than 1.8 kb. Phylogenetic analysis of the five completely sequenced genes and those subunit genes of Triticum aestivum L. (AABBDD), Aegilops tauschii Coss. (DD), Aegilops caudata L. (CC), Secale cereale L. (RR) and Aegilops umbellulata Zhuk. (UU) indicated that the AgeloG2 was most closely related to 1Dy; the AgeloG3 was to 1By; the AgeloG5, AgeloG6 and AgeloG7 were to 1Ay.     

高冰草中高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基的编码基因

通过SDS-PAGE法分析了高冰草(Agropyron elongatum (Host) Nevski)种子麦谷蛋白亚基,发现高冰草的麦谷蛋白亚基种类比普通小麦更加丰富。通过基因组PCR法用高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基基因的特异引物从高冰草核基因组中分离出了7条麦谷蛋白亚基的全编码序列,分别命名为AgeloG1~AgeloG7。其中的5条已进行全序列测定,对AgeloG1和AgeloG4进行了末端测序。尽管其中的4条基因的编码序列(AgeloG4, AgeloG5, AgeloG6和AgeloG7)小于1.8 kb,但是对从克隆到的序列推导出的氨基酸序列与已经发表的小麦高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基序列进行对比分析发现,这些亚基与来自小麦的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基具有很高的同源性。并且对信号肽、N-、C-末端的氨基酸序列分析显示,这7条序列编码的亚基皆为y-型亚基。用5条全部测序的编码序列与普通小麦的A、B、D、粗山羊草的D、圆柱山羊草的C、伞穗山羊草的U、黑麦的R染色体的编码高分子量麦谷蛋白的序列进行了聚类分析。表明,AgeloG2与小麦1Dy, AgeloG3与小麦1By, AgeloG5、AgeloG6和AgeloG7与小麦1Ay在起源和进化上有较高的相似性。     

High-molecular-weight glutenin subunits in the Cylindropyrum and Vertebrata section of the Aegilops genus and identification of subunits related to those encoded by the Dx alleles of common wheat

The high-molecular-weight (HMW) glute-nin subunit composition of seven species from the Cylindropyrum and Vertebrata sections of the Aegilops genus was studied using SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis. Two subunits were detected in Ae. caudata and three in Ae. cylindrica. In both species, subunits showing electrophoretic mobility similar to that of 1Dx2 were present. Western blot analysis using a monoclonal antibody (IFRN 1602) specific for the 1Ax and 1Dx subunits of bread wheat showed that the 1Dx-like subunit of Ae. caudata gave only a weak reaction. This indicates that Ae. caudata expresses subunits which are more distantly related to the 1Dx subunits. Two subunits were detected in each of the 60 accessions of Ae. tauschii, including several 1D^tx subunits showing different electrophoretic mobilities from those of the 1Dx subunits commonly found in bread wheat. All of the 1D^tx subunits reacted strongly with IFRN 1602, confirming their close relationship to the 1Dx subunits of bread wheat. Three subunits were found in Ae. crassa (6 x), four in Ae. ventricosa and Ae. juvenalis and five in Ae. vavilovii. In these four species, the subunits that showed electrophoretic mobility similar, or close, to that of 1Dx2 all reacted with IFRN 1602. In addition, Ae. ventricosa contained a subunit showing electrophoretic mobility slower than that of 1Dx2.2, which also reacted with IFRN 1602. These results suggest that the D-genome component in the multiploid Aegilops species express at least one HMW glutenin subunit that is structurally related to the 1Dx subunits of bread wheat. Received: 5 November 1999 / Accepted: 12 February 2000     

Characterization of the HMW glutenin subunits from Aegilops searsii and identification of a novel variant HMW glutenin subunit

High molecular weight (HMW) glutenin subunits are conserved seed storage proteins in wheat and related species. Here we describe a more detailed characterization of the HMW glutenin subunits from Aegilops searsii, which is diploid and contains the S^s genome related to the S genome of Aegilops speltoides and the A, B and D genomes of hexaploid wheat. SDS-PAGE experiments revealed two subunits (one x and one y) for each of the nine Ae. searsii accessions analyzed, indicating that the HMW glutenin subunit gene locus of Ae. searsii is similar to the Glu-1 locus found in wheat in containing both x and y genes. The primary structure of the four molecularly cloned subunits (from two Ae. searsii accessions) was highly similar to that of the previously reported x and y subunits. However, in one accession (IG49077), the last 159 residues of the x subunit (1S^sx49077), which contained the sequence element GHCPTSPQQ, were identical to those of the y subunit (1S^sy49077) from the same accession. Consequently, 1S^sx49077 contains an extra cysteine residue located at the C-terminal part of its repetitive domain, which is novel compared to the x-type subunits reported so far. Based on this and previous studies, the structure and expression of the Glu-1 locus in Ae. searsii is discussed. A hypothesis on the genetic mechanism generating the coding sequence for the novel 1S^sx49077 subunit is presented.     

Isolation and characterization of five novel high molecular weight subunit of glutenin genes from Triticum timopheevi and Aegilops cylindrica

Analysis by SDS-PAGE of total protein fractions from single seeds of Aegilops cylindrica (genomes C and D) and Triticum timopheevi (genomes A and G) showed the presence of three bands corresponding to high molecular weight subunits of glutenin (HMW subunits) in the former and two major bands and a minor band corresponding to HMW subunits in the latter. Three Ae. cylindrica and two T. timopheevi HMW subunit gene sequences, each comprising the entire coding region, were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and their complete nucleotide sequences determined. A combination of N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the proteins identified by SDS-PAGE and alignments of the derived amino acid sequences of the proteins encoded by the PCR products identified the Ae. cylindrica HMW subunits as 1Cx, 1Cy and 1Dy, and the T. timopheevi HMW subunits as 1Gx, 1Ax and 1Ay. It was not clear whether or not a 1Gy HMW subunit was present in T. timopheevi. The PCR products from Ae. cyclindrica were derived from 1Cy and 1Dy genes and a silent 1Dx gene containing an in-frame internal stop codon, while those from T. timopheevi were derived from 1Ax and 1Ay genes. The 1Cx, 1Gx and 1Gy sequences were not amplified successfully. The proteins encoded by the five novel genes had similar structures to previously characterized HMW subunits of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). Differences and similarities in sequence and structure, and in the distribution of cysteine residues (relevant to the ability of HMW subunits to form high M_r polymers) distinguished the HMW subunits of x- and y-type and of each genome rather than those of the different species. There was no evidence of a change in HMW subunit expression or structure resulting from selective breeding of bread wheat. The novel 1Ax, 1Ay, 1Cy and 1Dy HMW subunits were expressed in Escherichia coli, and the expressed proteins were shown to have very similar mobilities to the endogenous HMW subunits on SDS-PAGE. The truncated 1Dx gene from Ae. cylindrica failed to express in E. coli, and no HMW subunit-related protein of the size predicted for the truncated 1Dx subunit could be identified by immunodetection in seed extracts.     

Isolation and characterization of Glu-1 genes from the St genome of Pseudoroegneria libanotica

The St genome, which is present in nearly half of all Triticeae species, originates from the genus Pseudoroegneria. However, very little is known about the high molecular weight (HMW) subunits of glutenin which are encoded by the St genome. In this paper, we report the isolation from Pd. libanotica of four sequences encoding HMW subunits of glutenin. The four genes were all small compared to standard glutenin genes. All four sequences resemble y-type glutenins rather than x-types. However, their N-terminal domains contain a glutamine residue which is present in all x-type, but very few y-type subunits, and their central repetitive domains included some irregular motifs. The indication is therefore that the Glu-1St genes evolved earlier than other modern day homoeologues, so that they represent an intermediate state in the divergence between x- and y-type subunits. No x-type Glu-1St subunit genes were identified.     

类大麦属高分子量谷蛋白基因Kx的序列测定及表达

利用SDS-PAGE检测了2份类大麦属(Crithopsis delileana)材料的高分子量谷蛋白亚基组成,并对其中1份材料的x型亚基进行了克隆和测序。结果表明,2份材料具有完全相同的蛋白电泳图谱。在小麦的高分子量区域仅检测到一条蛋白质带,与小麦y型亚基的迁移率接近,但克隆测序表明其为x型高分子量谷蛋白亚基,其编码基因命名为Kx。Kx基因编码区序列长度为2052bp．编码长度为661个氨基酸残基的蛋白质,其序列具有典型的x型高分子量谷蛋白亚基的特征。Kx基因能在原核表达系统内正确表达,其表达蛋白与来源于种子中的Kx亚基的迁移率完全一致。Kx亚基与小麦属A、B和D,山羊草属C和U以及黑麦属R染色体组编码的高分子量谷蛋白亚基氨基酸序列非常相似,但在N和C保守区的氨基酸组成以及重复区长度上与它们存在明显差异。聚类分析可将Kx与Ax1聚类为平行的分支。由此可见,来源于C．delileana的Kx基因为一新的x型高分子量谷蛋白亚基基因。     

长穗偃麦草中E和E1基因组高分子量麦谷蛋白基因启动子部分序列的进化分析

通过PCR克隆的方法,获得了分别来自二倍体长穗偃麦草的E基因组和四倍体长穗偃麦草的E_1基因组的4个高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基(HMW-GS)基因启动子的部分序列。序列分析表明,它们之间的同源性较高,两个x型亚基启动子序列之间只有1个碱基的差异,而两个y型亚基启动子序列完全相同,x和y型亚基启动子序列之间的长度和部分碱基位点都有差异。推测四倍体长穗偃麦草中的E_1基因组可能起源于二倍体的E基因组。与来自小麦族的A、B、D和G基因组部分亚基基因的启动子序列比较表明,小麦族的这一区域在进化上是相当保守的,不同基因组来源的序列同源性都在90％以上。经过对这些序列的聚类分析,表明长穗偃麦草的y型HMW-GS基因与其他亚基基因的进化关系较远,而x型亚基基因与一个来自小麦1B染色体的亚基基因关系最近。     

Characterization of two HMW glutenin subunit genes from Taenitherum Nevski

The compositions of high molecular weight (HMW) glutenin subunits from three species of Taenitherum Nevski (TaTa, 2n = 2x = 14), Ta. caput-medusae, Ta. crinitum and Ta. asperum, were investigated by SDS-PAGE analysis. The electrophoresis mobility of the x-type HMW glutenin subunits were slower or equal to that of wheat HMW glutenin subunit Dx2, and the electrophoresis mobility of the y-type subunits were faster than that of wheat HMW glutenin subunit Dy12. Two HMW glutenin genes, designated as Tax and Tay, were isolated from Ta. crinitum, and their complete nucleotide coding sequences were determined. Sequencing and multiple sequences alignment suggested that the HMW glutenin subunits derived from Ta. crinitum had the similar structures to the HMW glutenin subunits from wheat and related species with a signal peptide, and N- and C-conservative domains flanking by a repetitive domain consisted of the repeated short peptide motifs. However, the encoding sequences of Tax and Tay had some novel modification compared with the HMW glutenin genes reported so far: (1) A short peptide with the consensus sequences of KGGSFYP, which was observed in the N-terminal of all known HMW glutenin genes, was absent in Tax; (2) There is a specified short peptide tandem of tripeptide, hexapeptide and nonapeptide and three tandem of tripeptide in the repetitive domain of Tax; (3) The amino acid residues number is 105 (an extra Q presented) but not 104 in the N-terminal of Tay, which was similar to most of y-type HMW glutenin genes from Elytrigia elongata and Crithopsis delileana. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that Tax subunit was mostly related to Ax1, Cx, Ux and Dx5, and Tay was more related to Ay, Cy and Ry.     

Pollen morphology in relation to the taxonomy and phylogeny of some native Greek Aegilops species

The pollen morphology of some native Greek Aegilops species is investigated in LM (quantitative pollen characters) and SEM (exine sculpture) using acetolysed material. Furthermore, quantitative data are subjected to a multivariate analysis. The tetraploid Ae. cylindrica and its diploid parent Ae. caudata show a distinct morphological affinity as regards their quantitative pollen profile and the features of the exine sculpture. The tetraploid Ae. triuncialis is morphologically divergent from both its parents Ae. caudata and Ae. umbellulata due to the very large values of its quantitative pollen characters. However, the SEM survey of the exine sculpture indicates a rather high degree of similarity between Ae. triuncialis and Ae. umbellulata. No significant differences have been found between the two varieties of Ae. caudata (caudata and polyathera) concerning the quantitative pollen characters as a total or the morphology of the exine sculpture. The resultant clustering of the taxa on the basis of the quantitative pollen characters as well as the recorded similarities of their exine pattern are related to their sectional classification based on cytogenetical and morphological data.     

Biochemical and genetic characterization of a monomeric storage protein (T1) with an unusually high molecular weight in Triticum tauschii

The protein named T1, present in Triticum tauschii, was previously characterized as a high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunit with a molecular size similar to that of the y-type glutenin subunit-10 of Triticum aestivum. This protein was present along with other HMW glutenin subunits named 2^t and T2, and was considered as part of the same allele at the Glu-D ^t 1 locus of T. tauschii. This paper describes a re-evaluation of this protein, involving analyses of a collection of 173 accessions of T. tauschii, by SDS-PAGE of glutenin subunits after the extraction of monomeric protein. No accessions were found containing the three HMW glutenin subunits. On the other hand, 17 lines with HMW glutenin subunits having electrophoretic mobilities similar to subunits 2^t and T2 were identified. The absence of T1 protein in these gel patterns has shown that protein T1 is not a component of the polymeric protein. Rather, the T1 protein is an ω-gliadin with an unusually high-molecular-weight. This conclusion is based on acidic polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE), sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (A-PAGE+ SDS-PAGE), together with analysis of its N-terminal amino-acids sequence. The inheritance of ω-gliadin T1 was studied through analyses of gliadins and HMW glutenins in 106 F₂ grains of a cross between synthetic wheat, L/18913, and the wheat cv Egret. HMW glutenin subunits and gliadins derived from T. tauschii (Glu-D ^t 1 and Gli-D ^t 1) segregated as alleles of the Glu-D1 and Gli-D1 loci of bread wheat. A new locus encoding the ω-gliadin T1 was identified and named Gli-DT1. The genetic distance between this new locus and those of endosperm proteins encoded at the 1D chromosome were calculated. The Gli-DT1 locus is located on the short arm of chromosome 1D and the map distance between this locus and the Gli-D1 and Glu-D1 loci was calculated as 13.18 cM and 40.20 cM, respectively. Received: 13 October 2000 / Accepted: 18 April 2001     

Characterization of HMW prolamines and their coding sequences from Crithopsis delileana

The high-molecular-weight (HMW) prolamines subunits and their coding sequences from wheat-related diploid species Crithopsis delileana were investigated. Only one HMW prolamine subunit with the similar electrophoresis mobility to the y-type HMW glutenin subunit of hexaploid wheat was observed in two accessions of C. delileana by SDS-PAGE analyses of the total storage protein fractions. It was confirmed by sequencing and expression analysis that this prolamine subunit was an x-type subunit. The amino acid sequence of this subunit had the similar typical structure to those of x-type HMW glutenin genes previously described in wheat. An in-frame stop codon was found in the coding sequences of y-type prolamine subunits. It was found by specifically extraction of HMW prolamines and sequence analysis that the coding regions of Ky prolamine subunit gene is very likely to be not expressed as a full-length protein. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Kx subunit could be clustered together with 1Ax1 subunit by an interior paralleled branch, and Ky subunit (inactive) was most closely related to the 1Ay subunit. The coding sequences of Kx subunit could successfully be expressed in bacterial expression system, and the expressed protein had the same electrophoresis mobility as the Kx subunit from the seed of C. delileana. It was the first time that the HMW prolamines subunits encoded by K genome of C. delileana were characterized.     

Dynamics of the evolution of orthologous and paralogous portions of a complex locus region in two genomes of allopolyploid wheat

Two overlapping bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones from the B genome of the tetraploid wheat Triticum turgidum were identified, each of which contains one of the two high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin genes, comprising the complex Glu-B1 locus. The complete sequence (285 506 bp of DNA) of this chromosomal region was determined. The two paralogous x-type ( Glu-1-1 ) and y-type ( Glu-1-2 ) HMW-glutenin genes of the complex Glu-B1 locus were found to be separated by ca. 168 000 bp instead of the 51 000 bp separation previously reported for the orthologous Glu-D1 locus of Aegilops tauschii, the D-genome donor of hexaploid wheat. This difference in intergene spacing is due almost entirely to be the insertion of clusters of nested retrotransposons. Otherwise, the orientation and order of the HMW glutenins and adjacent genes were identical in the two genomes. A comparison of these orthologous regions indicates modes and patterns of sequence divergence, with implications for the overall Triticeae genome structure and evolution. A duplicate globulin gene, found 5' of each HMW-glutenin gene, assists to tentatively define the original duplication event leading to the paralogous x- and y-type HMW-glutenin genes. The intergenic regions of the two loci are composed of different patterns and classes of retrotransposons, indicating that insertion times of these retroelements were after the divergence of the two wheat genomes. In addition, a putative receptor kinase gene near the y-type HMW-glutenin gene at the Glu-B1 locus is likely active as it matches recently reported ESTs from germinating barley endosperm. The presence of four genes represented only in the Triticeae endosperm ESTs suggests an endosperm-specific chromosome domain.     

Multiple origins of allopolyploid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops triuncialis</Emphasis>

Polyploidization is a key component of plant evolution. The number of independent origins of polyploid species traditionally has been underestimated. The objective of this study was to ascertain the number of origins of a tetraploid Aegilops species. We screened 84 primer sets to identify genome-specific primer sets for the tetraploid wheat relative [Aegilops triuncialis (UUCC genome)] and its diploid progenitors [Ae. umbellulata (UU genome) and Ae. caudata (CC genome)]. Primer sets G12 and G43 were U genome-specific and D21 was a C genome-specific primer. DNA sequence comparison of the G43 locus was used to estimate the number of polyploidization events in the formation of Ae. triuncialis. Parsimony analysis of G43 data revealed at least two independent formations of Ae. triuncialis. In the chloroplast hotspot region, located between genes rbcL and petA, sequence analysis suggested that at least three polyploidization origins might have occurred independently. Ae. triuncialis appears to be a tetraploid derived from multiple origins with minimal genome change after its formation.     

Genetic Diversity of the Cytoplasm in Triticum and Aegilops. VIII. Fraction I Protein of 39 Cytoplasms

The electrophoretic characteristics of the cytoplasmically controlled large subunit of the Fraction I protein of 36 alloplasmic and three euplasmic control lines are reported. These lines, representing the cytoplasms of 32 Triticum and Aegilops species, had either H- or L-type large subunits in their Fraction I protein; the diploid Triticum and most Aegilops species, including Ae. bicornis and Ae. sharonensis, had the L-type subunits; whereas, all the polyploid Triticum species (emmer, timopheevi, common wheats), Ae. speltoides, Ae. aucheri, and Ae. longissima had H-type subunits. Therefore, section Sitopsis of Aegilops exhibits interspecific heterogeneity. The H-type is believed to have originated in the Sitopsis section from an L-type subunit because of the prevalence of the latter among the diploid species.     

小麦新品种(系)Glu-1位点等位基因变异研究

应用SDS-PAGE技术分析了40份小麦新品种(系)的高分子量麦谷蛋白亚基等位基因变异。在Glu-1位点共检测到10种变异类型,其中Glu-Al位点有3种类型：Null、1、26 ,Glu-B1位点有5种类型：7 8、7 9、14 15、7、17 18,Glu-D1位点有2种类型：2 12、5 10;Null(54．3％)、7 8(51．4％)和2 12(62．9％)分别是Glu-Al、Glu-B1和Glu-D1位点上的主要亚基变异类型。另外,在2份材料的Glu-B1和Glu-D1位点各检测到1个新的亚基,分别命名为1By8．1和1Dx5^ 。Glu-1位点的Nei‘s遗传变异指数平均为0,5648,Glu-B1的遗传多样性最高,Glu-D1最低。供试小麦材料Glu-1位点的HMW-GS组合共有17种类型,以(Null,7 8,2 12)组合为主要类型,占31．4％;有9种亚基组合类型分别只在1份材料中出现,占26.1％。结果表明,这些小麦新品种(系)存在着丰富的亚基组合类型。     

Allelic variation at high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit loci in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aegilops biuncialis</Emphasis> Vis.

Alleles at the high-molecular-weight glutenin subunit loci Glu-U1 and Glu-M ^b 1 were analyzed in the tetraploid species Aegilops biuncialis (UUM^bM^b). The material for the investigation included the collection of 39 accessions of Ae. biuncialis from Ukraine (the Crimea), one Hellenic accession, one accession of unknown origin, F₂ seeds from different crosses, as well as samples from natural populations from the Crimea. Ae. umbellulata and Ae. comosa accessions were used to allocate components of the HMW glutenin subunit patterns of Ae. biuncialis to U or M ^b genomes. Eight alleles were identified at the Glu-U1 locus and ten alleles were revealed at the Glu-M ^b 1 locus. Among alleles at the Glu-M ^b 1 locus of Ae. biuncialis there were two alleles controlling the y-type subunit only and one allele encoding the x-subunit only.     

Characterization of high molecular weight glutenin subunit genes from the Ns genome of Psathyrostachys juncea

The Ns genome of the genus Psathyrostachys possesses superior traits useful for wheat improvement. However, very little is known about the high molecular weight (HMW) subunits of glutenin encoded by the Ns genome. In this paper, we report the isolation of four alleles of HMW glutenin subunit gene from Psathyrostachys juncea. Sequence alignment data shows the four alleles have similar primary structure with those in wheat and other wheat-related grasses, with some unique modifications. All four sequences more closely resemble y-type, rather than x-type, glutenins. However, our results show three of the subunits (1Ns2-4) contain an extra glutamine residue in the N-terminal region not found on typical y-type subunits, as well as the x-type subunit specific sequence LAAQLPAMCRL. These three subunits likely represent an intermediate state in the divergence between x- and y-type subunits. Results also indicate that the Ns genome is more closely related to the St genome of Pseudoroegneria than any other Triticeae genomes.